Description
1. COMB-PATTERNED VESSEL. Neolithic period, ca. 3000 BCE. Earthenware with incised decoration. Height 16″ (40.5 cm). Hanyang University Museum, Seoul, South Korea/The Bridgeman Art Library. [Asian Art, fig. 11-2) This type of pottery vessel was found throughout the Korean peninsula. Read through the relevant article: KoreaNeolithic.pdf Make note of the vessel’s form, size, and decoration. How is it thought to have been used? In what type of civilization as this vessel made? 2. INCENSE BURNER. Three Kingdoms period, Baekje kingdom, 6th century. Gilt bronze. Height 24-1⁄3″ (61.8 cm). Buyeo National Museum. [Asian Art, Fig. 11-6] Find the object from Unit Two on China that looks very much like this one. Discuss the similarities and differences. Given the separation in time and location, but based on the similarities, would you argue that the earlier piece was a model? Why or why not? 3. CROWN. Silla kingdom, 5th–6th century CE. Gold and jade. From Tomb 88, The Great Tomb at Hwangnam. [Asian Art, Fig. 11-1] These crowns have become National Treasures of Korea and representative of the Silla Kingdom. What can they tell us about foreign relations during this time and potential beliefs in the ruler and the afterlife? What does it look like to you? What forms (vegetal or animal) does the crown imitate? See for reference: Internationalism in Early Korean Art KIC Document copy 5.pdf The Silla Kingdom https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/korea-art/a/gold-and-jade-crown-silla-kingdom Silla’s Golden Kingdom: works on view https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2013/koreas-golden-kingdom/works-on-view Reconstruction of Silla Tombs 4. BODHISATTVA SEATED IN MEDITATION. Silla kingdom, 6th–7th century. Gilt bronze, height 36-4⁄5″ (93.5 cm). Likely the Bodhisattva Maitreya. National Museum of Korea, Seoul. DeAgostini Picture Library/Scala, Florence. [Asian Art, Fig. 11-8] This bodhisattva, like the Gold Silla Crown, has become easily recognized as a National Treasure of Korea. Based on the Buddhist figures we have observed from around the same period in China, what sets this figure apart? Please provide and elaborate on specific visual details. See Robert Mowry lecture on Buddhist Art in Korea for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzPUYAc9Nrc 5. SEATED BUDDHA AT SEOKGURAM CAVE TEMPLE. Unified Silla period, ca. 751. Granite, height (Buddha only) 11’2″ (3.42 m). Near Gyeongju. © Topic Photo Agency/Corbis. [Asian Art, Fig. 11-10] How does this site and its construction continue the tradition of Buddhist cave temple construction we have studied in China? How is it quite different? Browse through this reading to gain a sense of how this site was made: SokkuramGrotto.pdf 6. SEATED WILLOW-BRANCH GWANSE’EUM BOSAL (THE BODHISATTVA OF COMPASSION). Goryeo dynasty, late 14th century. Hanging scroll, ink, colors, and gold pigment on silk. Height 62″ (159.6 cm). Arthur M. Sackler Museum. [Asian Art, Fig. 11-12] Based on what you have learned about materials and style, who is likely to have commissioned this work? Why? What does this tell us about the adoption of Buddhism during this period of time? See for reference and support, 7. EWER IN THE SHAPE OF BAMBOO SHOOT. Goryeo dynasty, 1100–1150. Celadon-glazed stoneware with incised decoration. Height 10″ (25.4 cm). Victoria and Albert Museum, London. © V&A Images—All rights [Asian Art, Fig. 11-14] This vessel is important to understanding the development of court and ceramic culture during the Goryeo dynasty. While the original technology may have been adopted from China, in Korea the forms, color, and decorative techniques were developed in a particular direction. What decorative techniques does this vessel show? What other decorative techniques were developed in Korea? See for reference Robert Mowry’s lecture on Korean Ceramics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEIgRvlNY0w 8. SHAPED WINE BOTTLE DECORATED WITH BIRD, FISH, AND LOTUS. Joseon dynasty, 16th century. Buncheong ware; light gray stoneware with decoration painted in iron-brown slip on a white slip ground. 6-1⁄10″ × 9″ (15.5 × 24.1 cm). Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, Japan. Gift of the Sumitomo Group. [Asian Art, Fig. 11-22] In contrast to the Goryeo celadon vessel, what particular goals does this vessel seem to set? How have the ideals in the Joseon dynasty changed? Use specific visual (form, technique, decoration) to support your answer. See for reference Mowry’s lecture: 9. An Gyeon. DREAM JOURNEY TO THE PEACH BLOSSOM LAND. Joseon dynasty, 1447. Handscroll, ink and light colors on silk. 15″ × 41-3/4″ (38.7 × 106.1 cm). Central Library, Tenri University, Tenri (near Nara), Japan. [ Asian Art, Fig. 11-28] This painting shows clear Chinese influence in perhaps 2-3 ways. Can you identify and discuss them? See this article for reference: 10. Attributed to Yi Myeong-gi. PORTRAIT OF OH JAESUN. Joseon dynasty, 1791. Hanging scroll, color on silk. 59-7/8″ × 35-1/4″ (152 × 89.6 cm). Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul. [Asian Art, Fig. 11-27] This painting is representative of the shift in attitudes during the Joseon dynasty. Explain the change in subject matter and describe the painting and its 11. Jeong Seon. PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE DIAMOND MOUNTAINS (GEUMGANG-SAN). Joseon dynasty, 1734. Hanging scroll, ink and colors on paper. 40-5/8″ × 37″ (130.1 × 94 cm). Lee’um, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul. [Asian Art, Fig. 11-29] This painting, in contrast to the An Gyeon landscape, shifts the focus to Korea. How? How would you describe this view? Where might the viewer be standing? Would it be possible obtain such a view? What is the subject matter? 12. Kim Hongdo. “ROOF TILING”. Late Joseon dynasty, 18th century. Album leaf, ink and light color on paper. 11″ × 9″ (28 × 24 cm). National Museum of Korea, Seoul. [Asian Art, Fig. 11-30] Merely by looking at this painting, describe how the painter captured everyday life in this album leaf. What is the significance of this type of painting, that is, describe how it is different from paintings we’ve seen in this class? Kim Hongdo was a very famous and versatile painter. 13. Left: Sin Yunbok. “WOMEN ON TANO DAY”. Joseon dynasty, late 18th–early 19th century. Album leaf, ink and colors on paper. 11-1/8″ × 13-7/8″ (28.3 × 35.2 cm). Gansong Museum of Art, Seoul. akg-images/VISIOARS (Asian Art, p. 264). Right: Attributed to Lady Sin Saimdang. Mice Nibbling at a Watermelon. Joseon dynasty, 16th c. A panel from a screen painting, ink and colors on silk, 13 3/8 x 11 1/8” (34 x 28.3 cm). National Museum of Korea, Seoul (Asian Art, Fig. 11-32). How do these paintings represent the different role(s) of women in Joseon society? Try to provide a brief visual analysis of both paintings and discuss the women’s roles. One a painting of “entertaining” ladies, the other painted by a woman recognized for her role as a mother of an important scholar. How do the images alone reinforce these roles?
