OBJECTS of WEALTH and RITUAL: KOREAN ART: FOCUS
(Korean Art from the Silla Kingdom to Song Su-nam)
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three-kingdoms-period-
silla-kingdom
TITLE or DESIGNATION:
Gold and Jade Silla Crown
of the Three Kingdoms
Period
CULTURE or ART
HISTORICAL PERIOD:
Korean Silla Kingdom
DATE: 5th-6th centuries
C.E.
MEDIUM: metalwork
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humanities/art-asia/korea-
japan/korean-art/v/korean-
celadons
TITLE or DESIGNATION:
Maebyeong Celadon vase
CULTURE or ART
HISTORICAL PERIOD:
Korean Goryeo Dynasty
DATE: 12th century C.E.
MEDIUM: porcellaneous
stoneware with incised
decoration under celadon glaze
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humanities/art-asia/korea-
japan/korean-art/v/confucian-
house
TITLE or DESIGNATION:
Portrait of Sin Sukju
CULTURE or ART
HISTORICAL PERIOD:
Korean Joseon Dynasty
DATE: 15th century C.E.
MEDIUM: ink and color on
silk
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TITLE or
DESIGNATION:
Summer Trees
ARTIST: Song Su-nam
CULTURE or ART
HISTORICAL
PERIOD: Korean
Contemporary
DATE: 1983 C.E.
MEDIUM: ink on paper
OBJECTS of WEALTH and RITUAL: KOREAN ART: SELECTED TEXT
(Korean Art from the Silla Kingdom to Song Su-nam)
In the fifth and sixth centuries, the
Korean peninsula was divided
between three rivaling kingdoms.
The most powerful of these was
the Silla kingdom in the
southeast of the peninsula.
Chinese emissaries described the
kingdom as a country of gold, and
perhaps they had seen its crowns
adorned with shimmering gold and
jade.
Although their fragile gold
construction initially led some to
believe that these crowns were
made specifically for burial, recent
research has revealed that they
were also used in ceremonial rites
of the Silla royalty during the
Three Kingdoms Period (57 B.C.E.
- 676 C.E.).
Gold and Jade Silla Crown of the
Three Kingdoms Period, Korean
Silla Kingdom, 5th-6th centuries .E,
metalwork
Prior to the adoption of Buddhism,
Koreans practiced shamanism,
which is a kind of nature worship
that requires the expertise of a
priest-like figure, or shaman, who
intercedes to alleviate problems
facing the community.
Silla royalty upheld shamanistic
practices in ceremonial rites such
as coronations and memorial
services. In these sacred rituals,
the gold crowns emphasized the
power of the wearer through their
precious materials and natural
imagery.
Worn around the forehead, this tree-shaped crown
(daegwan) is the headband type found in the south in
royal tombs at the Silla capital, Gyeongju. Between
the fifth and sixth centuries, Silla crowns became
increasingly lavish with more ornamentation and
additional, increasingly elongated branch-like
protrusions.
In this crown, three tree-shaped vertical elements
evoke the sacred tree that once stood in the ritual
precinct of Gyeongju. This sacred tree was conceived
of as a “world tree,” or an axis mundi that connected
heaven and earth. Two additional antler-shaped
protrusions may refer to the reindeer that were
native to the Eurasian steppe that lies to the north of
the peninsula.
Attached to the branch-like features of the crown are
tiny gold discs and jade ornaments called gogok.
These jade ornaments symbolize ripe fruits hanging
from tree branches, representing fertility and
abundance. With sunlight falling on its golden discs,
the crown must have been a luminous sight indeed.
A second type of crown, the conical cap (mogwan), was found throughout the peninsula.
Although it was initially thought to be an internal component of the headband crown,
mural paintings show that it was worn independently over a topknot to proclaim the
rank and social status of its wearer.
The cap was secured to the head with double straps under the chin, as indicated by the
small holes along either side of the cap. Appendages in the shape of wings, feathers, or
flowers often were used to accessorize the crown, and those ornaments tended to be
geographically specific to each kingdom.
The Silla crown demonstrates cultural
interactions between the Korean
peninsula and the Eurasian steppe
(thousands of miles of grassland that
stretches from central Europe through
Asia). Scytho-Siberian peoples of the
Eurasian steppe created golden
diadems similar to the Silla crown,
such as a crown from Tillya Tepe (an
archaeological site of six nomad
graves that contained objects known
as the “Bactrian Hoard”) in modern-
day Afghanistan.
With five tree-shaped projections,
flower ornaments and reflective discs,
the Tillya Tepe crown can be
compared with the natural imagery
and radiant gold of the Silla crown.
Though separated by many miles and
by centuries, both crowns attest to
shamanic beliefs prevalent among the
nomadic cultures of the Eurasian
steppe.
Above: Inlaid gold pendant from Tillya
Tepe
Though their use of gold and practice
of shamanism related to the northern
steppe cultures, the Silla royalty
adopted the burial customs of the
Chinese by burying their elite in
mounded tombs. In Chinese burials,
objects that were important in life were
often taken to the grave. Similarly,
power objects like the Silla gold crowns
were used both above ground and
below, and their luxurious materials
conveyed the social status of the tomb
occupant in the afterlife.
In addition to crowns, belts, earrings,
and other jewelry were placed in
Korean tombs during the Three
Kingdoms era to represent the rank
and identity of the wearer. This gold
belt, for instance, was made for the
burial of a Silla king. It was like a tool
belt or charm bracelet, with pendants
that dangled from its band of
interlinked square plates and
entwining dragon openwork.
Above: Belt with pendant ornaments
from the Korean Silla kingdom, 5th
century CE, gold
Stretching from the
Mediterranean to the Silla
kingdom at the tip of the Korean
peninsula, the Silk Road
connected a vast terrain of
ancient cultures. While the Silla
kingdom shared shamanism with
the Eurasian steppe and burial
customs with China and Japan,
the Silk Road was a main route
for conveying materials,
techniques, and ideas from as far
away as Rome.
Luxury objects in tombs of the
Silla elite, such as these earrings,
are made of gold and decorated
with stylized foliage that
resembles the Silla crown. Two
tiers of leaf-shaped ornaments
dangle from double loops adorned
with floral motifs, continuing the
imagery of the sacred world tree.
Above: Pair of earrings from the Korean
Silla kingdom, second quarter of 6th
century, gold
Although Buddhism was the
established religion of Korea,
Confucianism, introduced from China
during the Silla era, increasingly
shaped social and political
conventions.
In the ninth century, the three old
kingdoms began to reemerge as
distinct political entities, and
although the Unified Silla and Goryeo
kingdoms overlapped (between about
918 and 935), by 935 the Goryeo had
taken control, and they dominated for
the next three centuries.
In 1231 the Mongols, who had
invaded China, pushed into Korea,
beginning a war lasting 30 years. In
the end, the Goryeo had to submit to
forming an alliance with the Mongols,
who eventually conquered all of
China.
Above: Map of Korea in 476 C.E.
Goryeo potters in the 12th century produced
the famous Korean celadon wares, admired
worldwide. The finest celadon wares feature
ornate engraved and inlaid designs over which
the ceramists applied highly translucent iron-
pigmented glazes, fired in an oxygen-deprived
kiln to become gray, pale blue, pale green, or
brownish-olive. A masterful example of
celadon ware is the plum-shaped vase that
once belonged to the American financier and
art collector J. P. Morgan.
Dating to the later Goryeo period, it is the
largest maebyeong vase known and was
decorated using the inlay technique for which
Goryeo potters were famous. The artist incised
delicate motifs of herons interspersed among
mallow and lotus blossoms into the clay’s
surface and then filled the grooves with white
and colored slip. Then the potter scraped the
surface of the vessel and finally covered the
entire maebyeong with the celadon blue-green
glaze.
Above: Maebyeong vase, Goryeo
dynasty, 12th century, porcellaneous
stoneware with incised decoration
under celadon glaze
The establishment of the Joseon ("Fresh Dawn")
dynasty in 1392 following a revolutionary yet
bloodless coup symbolized a purge—of the Goryeo
regime's corrupt finale and of Mongol domination—
and restoration. The new political vision of the state
promoted Neo-Confucianism in both theoretical
explorations and practical implementation in nearly
every aspect of the Joseon society. Buddhism, the
state-sanctioned religion for more than a thousand
years, was officially rejected, though private
worship and artistic production continued.
The Neo-Confucian royal court and elite literati
(yangban), the primary patrons of the arts,
embraced and encouraged the advancement of
secular art and culture. The fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries witnessed the revival and
reinterpretation of classical traditions alongside
significant achievements in innovative art forms.
Under King Sejong (r. 1418–50), who was the
embodiment of a renaissance monarch, a unique,
phonetic alphabet was created, permitting an
accurate transcription of the native language and
the wide dissemination of Confucian texts and
mores.
Statue of King Sejong
Portrait of Sin Sukju, Korean Joseon Dynasty,
c. 15th century CE, ink and color hanging silk
scroll
It was common practice in the Joseon Dynasty
(1392-1910) to make replicas of portraits of
important ancestors, particularly meritorious
subjects. These portraits, believed to embody
the spirit of their subjects, were worshipped in
various family shrines (yeongdang), which
might belong to different branches of a family.
Along with depictions of royals, one of the most
important tasks of the court painters was the
creation of portraits of meritorious officials
(gongsin).
Subjects who performed distinguished services
for the state were exemplars representing the
Confucian virtue of loyalty. Throughout the
Joseon period, a large number of portraits of
meritorious officials were created to mark such
occasions as the foundation of the dynasty, the
suppression of revolts, and the repulse of
foreign invasions.
Although numerous portraits of meritorious
subjects were produced during the early Joseon
period, only a few, unfortunately, have survived.
Two such survivors are the portraits of Sin Sukju
(1417-1475) and Jang Malson (1431-1486). The
primary function of portraits of meritorious
subjects was to celebrate their contributions to the
state and to emphasize the Confucian value of
loyalty to the king. An eminent literatus with
important publications to his credit, Sin Sukju was
also a key political figure of his time, who rose to
the position of prime minister. He was named a
meritorious subject four times during his life.
Following the convention of fifteenth-century
Korean gongsin portraiture, Portrait of Sin Sukju
depicts the sitter in a three-quarter pose facing his
right, resplendent official robe and an official black
silk hat. Particularly eye-catching is the garment’s
luminous gold-embroidered green rank badge with
peacocks. Despite the painting’s weathered
appearance, the portrait retains a lifelike quality,
capturing not only the physical features of this
eminent scholar-official but also his character.
The promotion of Confucian learning in the early
Joseon period was closely related to the
recruitment of educated civil and military officials
to the court. To recruit men of ambition, virtue,
and talent, the Joseon state relied heavily on a
ranking system based on civil, military, and
technical examinations. Civil officials received by
far the greatest honor and prestige; as a result, the
civil-service examination became the most
competitive.
Under Confucian rulership, the primary emphasis
was on state examinations, which served as
important gateways to an individual’s and
therefore his family’s success. The ruling yangban-
degree holders and their families, as well as
candidates who had not yet passed the civil-service
and military examinations- enjoyed political, social,
and cultural privileges and monopolized the state
examination system.
Although in theory male commoners were allowed
to sit for the examinations, the education necessary
to pass the examinations were made available
almost exclusively to the sons of the yangban.
In Neo-Confucianism, the ascendance of the Mencian
notion of the original goodness of human nature and
the idea of the perfectibility of a person led to the
emergence of the sage-kingship as a potent political
ideal. However, there existed a wide variety of choices
of how to translate the symbolic role of the monarch
within the actual workings of the monarchy. At the
beginning of the Joseon, two models at opposite
extremes competed: one consisted of a purely symbolic
ruler, with no power, in a prime minster-centered
structure, the other, of an autocratic sovereign who
sought the counsel of his ministers at his pleasure.
By the mid-sixteenth century the Joseon court seems
to have reached some semblance of an agreement on
the balance between the symbolic and actual roles of
the monarch. The ruler maintained the decision-
making power of a sovereign, but this was to be
exercised with ministerial counsel. A monarch ruling
in partnership with a governing elite was nothing new
in Korea- it is a form of government that can be traced
by to Silla (57 BCE- 935 CE)- but under the Joseon the
political discourse was carried out in the Confucian
rhetoric of the sage-kingship.
Portrait of Great King
Sejong. 4th King of the
Joseon Dynasty.
After its annexation in 1910, Korea remained part of
Japan until 1945, when the Western Allies and the
Soviet Union took control of the peninsula nation at
the end of World War II.
Korea was divided into the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of
Korea (South Korea) in 1948. South Korea has
emerged as a fully industrialized nation, and its
artists have had a wide exposure to art styles from
around the globe.
While some Korean artists continue to work in a
traditional East Asian manner, others have
embraced developments in contemporary Europe
and America.
One painter who has very successfully combined
native and international traditions is Song Su-nam,
one of the founders of the Oriental Ink Movement of
the 1980s. His Summer Trees owes a great deal to
the Post-Painterly Abstraction movement in the
United States. Korean artist Song Su-nam
Song Su-Nam. Summer Trees, 1983, ink on paper
But in place of acrylic resin on canvas, Song used ink on paper, the preferred medium of
East Asian literati. He forsook, however, the traditional emphasis on brush strokes to
explore the subtle tonal variations that broad stretches of ink wash made possible.
Nonetheless, the painting’s name recalls the landscapes of earlier Korean and Chinese
masters. This simultaneous respect for tradition and innovation has been a hallmark of both
Chinese and Korean art through their long histories.
When the Swedish National Museum of Oriental Art
invited him for a solo exhibition, he realized that
Korean Oriental painting was trapped in
authoritarianism and had been reduced to mere
decoration, and that Korean ink wash painting should
go the Korean way of today and tomorrow. This
enlightenment motivated him to initiate
the movement, which went on for more than a decade.
“With the same Oriental ink, the Chinese mainly
depict ideal worlds in black and white, while the
Japanese usually create colored paintings,” explains
Song. “I wanted to discover what is unique to Korean
Oriental paintings. People began to call the activities
I stirred up an ink wash painting movement. Well, I
think the term hangukhwa (literally means Korean
paintings, but in actuality refers to Korean Oriental
paintings much of the time) is somewhat strange, but
I think if a Korean paints a painting to depict the
spirit and emotions of Koreans, the painting is a
hangukhwa regardless of whatever material he or she
uses.”
This movement shared the general feeling that it was necessary to 'recover' a national
identity and began to concentrate on subtle tonal variations of ink wash, in an attempt to
elicit an inner spirituality which was felt to be lost in a modern technological age.
Song Su-Nam. Brush Stroking, 1997.
His efforts started to bear fruit with an
exhibition of contemporary Korean ink wash
paintings organized by the National Museum of
Contemporary Art, Korea, in 1981. The
exhibition was unique in that it was a large
exhibition for a single group of Korean artists.
In 1990, Song became fascinated with straight
lines, a sign of a new change in his style. Ideas
rather than actual landscapes emerged on the
paper. In his painting series, Brush Stroking,
Song’s brush freely swims on Hanji (Korean
traditional paper).
Thick lines, thin lines, long lines, short lines,
dark lines, light lines, those lines are created
when his brush and ink, inspiration, and
fleeting moments are all united and express the
spirit of scholars of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-
1910), which repelled numerous incursions for
half a millennium.
OBJECTS of WEALTH and RITUAL: KOREAN ART: ACTIVITIES and REVIEW
(Korean Art from the Silla Kingdom to Song Su-nam)