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The Sculpture and Crafts Section: Dignified Artworks Filled with the Philosophy of Everyday Life

from National Museum of Korea: Quarterly Magazine, vol.58

by National Museum of Korea

from National Museum of Korea: Quarterly Magazine, vol.58, page 4

Article from: National Museum of Korea: Quarterly Magazine, vol.58

TRAVELLING WORKS

VISUAL GUIDE

by the EDITORIAL TEAM, with the FINE ARTS DIVISION, National Museum of Korea

The Sculpture and Crafts section of the National Museum of Korea has over 780 famous artworks on display, offering you an opportunity to appreciate the solid beauty of sculptured pieces. The Buddhist Sculpture Gallery is organized according to time period and iconographic subject, while the Metal Crafts Gallery categorizes the items on display by the materials used (gold, silver, bronze, and iron) across time. In addition, you are introduced to various Buddhist works as well as metal crafts decorated with gold and silver inlay.

The Celadon Gallery features the famous Goryeo Dynasty 918–1392 celadons with their signature pale green tint, known as bisaek 翡色, as well as celadon ware decorated with inlays. Various production methods are in play here, including intaglio carving, engraving in relief, openwork, figurative designs, underglaze painting with iron pigment, and underglaze copper red decoration. Meanwhile, the Buncheong Ware and White Porcelain Gallery is showing buncheong ware and white porcelain, quintessence of the ceramic tradition of the Joseon Dynasty 1392–1897. Here you will encounter the unadorned and simple forms, diverse production methods, as well as free-spirited and bold designs of powdered grayish blue-green porcelain, commonly known as buncheong ware for short. At the same time, you will experience the white porcelain pieces that feature elegant yet restrained forms.

Location North area on the third floor of the Permanent Exhibition Hall Contents A place to appreciate the solid beauty of three-dimensional artwork Composition Four galleries

Gilt-bronze Standing Buddha with Inscription of “the Seventh Yeonga Year”

Room No. 301, Buddhist Sculpture Gallery

The Buddhist religion first came to the Korean Peninsula in the fourth century CE. Sculptures of Buddha and various other deities in the pantheon began to be produced here in the fifth and sixth centuries, and some small gilt-bronze statues of Buddhist images from this period are extant. The Gilt-bronze Standing Buddha with Inscription of “the Seventh Yeonga Year” is the oldest Korean Buddhist statue with an inscribed date ever found. The Buddha’s face is slender and long; his robes appear thick, and the hems flare out. This style of garment on Buddha statues is typical of the Northern Wei Dynasty 386–534 in China, which alone would make it difficult to precisely identify the exact time period and country of origin. Fortunately, however, a detailed inscription on the back of the halo states where the piece was produced and specifies the year as 539.

**Gilt-bronze Standing Buddha with Inscription of “the Seventh Yeonga Year”**

Stone Standing Maitreya Bodhisattva and Amitabha Buddha from Gamsansa Temple, Gyeongju

Room No. 301, Buddhist Sculpture Gallery

Korean sculptors familiarized themselves with the traditional styles of Buddhist statuary from other East Asian countries and then modified them to suit local tastes. While conventional stylistic aspects were maintained with the two statues presented in the gallery, they also bear signs that the sculptors attempted to incorporate new stylistic elements that came into vogue in the early eighth century, namely the tendency to emphasize ample bulkiness and dynamic realism. The large eyes, broad face, and static posture are conventional style traits in both statues. However, Maitreya’s posture, which is slightly bent at the waist, as well as his corpulent body reflect new trends. A new stylistic aspect for Amitabha, meanwhile, is the tightly-fitting robe that flows from the shoulders to the ankles, revealing the outline of his body. These statues were carved out of granite, a very hard material, yet their portrayal is finely detailed. The figures project a magnificent yet upright and reverent feel.

Reliquary from the East Three-story Stone Pagoda at Gameunsa Temple Site

Room No. 302, Metal Crafts Gallery

Gameunsa Temple was established east of Gyeongju, the Silla capital, around 682, and a pair of stone pagodas, one on the east side and the other on the west side, remain today. The reliquary set was discovered inside the East Pagoda. The set consists of a small bottle for the relic (sari), or bone fragment from the Buddha’s body. The bottle is enshrined inside the reliquary, which in turn is stored inside an outer case. The crystal bottle was first placed in the center of the reliquary then covered with a round cap, obscuring it from view. The bottle was surrounded by figurines of the Four Heavenly Kings and monks, serving as guardians of the precious relic. The outer case for the reliquary is also adorned with the Four Heavenly King figures, who are shown clad in armor and striking natural poses. The sculpting techniques are meticulously fine, which bears testimony to the outstanding level of the contemporary metal craftsmanship.

**Celadon Ewer in the Shape of a Fishdragon**

Bronze Kundika with Silver-inlaid Willow and Waterfowl Design

Room No. 302, Metal Crafts Gallery

The kundika, literally pure water bottle, wasoriginally a portable vessel that was filled withwater and carried by Indian monks while theytraveled in pursuit of their ascetic practices.Most of the extant metal kundikas from theGoryeo period lack decoration, but this pieceis exceptional. The outer surface is adornedwith an idyllic waterside scene so finelyexecuted that it looks as if it were painted witha brush. In fact, it was executed with silverinlay. The artisans first etched grooves intothe bottle surface and then inserted threads ofsilver. Over time, the surface was oxidized byair, creating a green patina that has blackenedthe decoration. However, at the time thepiece was completed, it would have featureda contrast of metallic colors, with a glitteringsilver pattern against a golden background.

**Celadon Prunus Vase with Inlaid Peony Design in Underglaze Copper**

**Buncheong Jar with Inlaid Cloud and Dragon Design**

**Bronze Kundika with Silver-inlaid Willow and Waterfowl Design**

Celadon Ewer in the Shape of a Fish-dragon

Room No. 303, Celadon Gallery

This extravagant celadon ewer brings together a dragon and a fish. It exemplifies the superb creativity and production techniques applied by Goryeo craftsmen who exquisitely shaped the creatures that they envisioned in their imaginations. The spout is a dragon’s head; the body is a fish, and the handle is shaped to resemble twisted lotus stalks, complete with flower buds and leaves. The creature’s fins, the lotus leaf tips, and the dragon’s teeth are coated with white slip, adding a richer color sensation to the celadon hue. The pupils in the dragon’s eyes have been rendered with a black, oxidized pigment to impart a feeling of movement and vitality. Notably, the feeling of depth has been enhanced by a generous application of glaze on the undersides of the fins sculpted on the rotund ewer body. The glaze has been thickly applied on purpose to modulate angles and bring out the appearance of fins. This masterpiece allows us to appreciate fully the extraordinary skills of Goryeo potters.

Celadon Prunus Vase with Inlaid Peony Design in Underglaze Copper

Room No. 303, Celadon Gallery

This is a truly impressive example of the prunus vase: elegant body curves and a lively rendering of the peonies to give the impression they are fluttering in the breeze. This vase genre was used in Goryeo to store precious food articles such as honey or sesame oil. The piece seen in the gallery has white and black slip applied on the shoulders to form thick outlines, with ornamental knots suspended from each one to create the effect of a decorative fabric covering. Chrysanthemum scrolls fill the inside of these outlined spaces, and the scroll vines are very softly and vigorously portrayed. The peony images in the center of the vase body demonstrate most clearly how refined this craftwork truly is. The feeling of elegance was elevated by applying copper red pigment, which is difficult touse effectively, on top of the peonies’ broad white petals prior to glazing. The contrasting black and white inlays as well as the copper underglaze bring an especially dignified touch to this exceptional vase.

**Moon Jar on display at the Buncheong Ware and White Porcelain Gallery**

Buncheong Jar with Inlaid Cloud and Dragon Design

Room No. 304, Buncheong Ware and White Porcelain Gallery

Buncheong ware was produced uniquely in Joseon for 150 years, starting from the fifteenth century. The vessel body was formed with grayish blue-green clay, coated with white slip, and then decorated in diverse ways. Unlike with Goryeo celadon ware, large buncheong jars could be produced such as the 48.5cm-tall piece highlighted here. The present piece was variously decorated using inlay methods handed down from Goryeo celadon tradition along with stamping techniques. The decorative patterns, composition, and production methods reflect the characteristics of pottery produced in Yuan and Ming Dynasties of China, but the overall free-spirited nature and boldness of the piece is a Joseon buncheong ware signature.

White Porcelain Lidded Jar with Plum, Bird, and Bamboo Design in Underglaze Cobalt Blue

Room No. 305, Buncheong Ware and White Porcelain Gallery

This jar features clear white coloring and voluminous roundness. The width and height are almost equal, so the large, spherical appearance is reminiscent of the moon, leading to its twentieth-century nickname, “the moon jar.” Given its great size, the upper half and lower half were thrown separately on a large potter’s wheel, joined together, and then fired in the kiln. As a result, traces of the join are visible in the middle and the overall shape is slightly deformed. The jar provides visitors with a special sense of calm that cannot be found in pottery that is perfectly symmetrical left to right.

White Porcelain Moon Jar

Room No. 305, Buncheong Ware and White Porcelain Gallery

Cobalt blue pigment, which had to be imported, was very expensive in Joseon, so the blue-and-white porcelain was especially treasured. Highly trained professional artists were also called in to paint the designs on the white porcelain. In this way, Joseon artisans during the fifteenth–sixteenth centuries would at times use the entire surface of a white porcelain piece to paint a single, visually tantalizing scene in cobalt blue. This small jar is adorned with a finely detailed painting: two birds sit on a branch in a plum tree with wild chrysanthemums in full bloom below them and bamboo that appears to be waving in the breeze. The lid has a lotus bud-shaped knob in the center and is painted with images of bamboo and plum branches for an added flair.

**White Porcelain Lidded Jar with Plum, Bird, and Bamboo Design in Underglaze Cobalt Blue**

This article is from:

National Museum of Korea: Quarterly Magazine, vol.58

by National Museum of Korea