| 20
Years Result of Excavating Kilns (September 2001) |
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Ever since the Ewha Womans University
Museum discovered a Joseon dynasty (1392~1910) white porcelain
kiln in Gyeonggi-do, Bunwon-ri in 1985, it has continuously
carried out kiln excavations in various areas. The excavations
produced significant achievements, resulting in the discovery
of high-quality artifacts, furnaces, work places, and
other material with which to identify production techniques,
thereby rewriting the history of Korean ceramics. The
exhibition displayed the results of the past twenty years
of excavation, which included seven royal white porcelain
kilns dating from the 15th to the 17th century found in
Gyeonggi-do, Gwangju, three provincial white porcelain
kilns found in Anseong, and two Buncheong-ware kilns,
all of which date from the Joseon dynasty. In addition,
a kiln from the Unified Silla period (661-935) discovered
in Yeongam's Gurim Village, which produced the first known
Korean glazed ceramics, and ceramic fragments and kiln
tools found in two kilns from the Goryeo dynasty (918~1392)
were put on display. Further Goryeo pieces from a celadon
kiln in Buan-gun, Yucheon-ri, as well as Joseon Buncheong-ware
pieces from Udong-ri, and Joseon white porcelain artifacts
from Gangwon-do, Yanggu-gun, were also put on display.
Finally, excavation equipment, such as tools and cameras,
used in the 1960s by the Ewha Womans University Museum
was also displayed, exhibiting the excavation history
of the Museum as well. |
The
Emille Bell: Traces of Ancient Korean Paintings (2000) |
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Because there are not many paintings
extant from prior to the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), the
history of Korean painting is largely composed of paintings
from that era. But through the murals from the Three Kingdoms
period (57 B.C.-668) and the paintings, sculptures, celadon,
and metal works of the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392), we can
confirm that there were many magnificent examples of paintings
that predate the Joseon dynasty. The Museum organized
this exhibit with paintings and artifacts dating from
the prehistoric age to Goryeo in an effort to fill the
gaps in the history of Korean painting. Bowls with comb
patterns from the Neolithic Age (5000 B.C.-1000 B.C.),
bronze bowls and stone carvings found in Goryeong and
Ulju from the Bronze Age, and ceramics from the Silla
kingdom (57 B.C.-668) display that Korea possesses a geometrical
and descriptive tradition. The paintings from Silla can
also be glimpsed in the roof tiles from Unified Silla
period (661~935), rubbings of the twelve astrological
signs from tombs around Gyeongju, and in the rubbings
taken from bronze bells such as the Sacred Bell of the
great King Seongdeok (702-737). Goryeo celadon pieces
with designs other than the typical arrangements of people,
cranes, and peonies, metal artifacts such as copper incense
burners, and Goryeo stone coffins with various designs,
such as animals, plants, people, and structures, all suggest
aspects of the paintings from the Goryeo dynasty. |
| Gurim
Village Project 1 (March 2000) |
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Jeollanam-do, Yeongam-gun is famous for
being a residential area and the site of a huge burial
ground from the 4th to the 6th century, as well as for
being the first kiln site to produce glazed ceramic ware
during the Unified Silla period (661~935). Gurim Village,
where Mt. Weolchul is located, is particularly noteworthy
as the village in which the birth myths for Wangin of
the Baekje kingdom (18 B.C.-660) and Doseonkuksa of Unified
Silla originated. The entire area remains relatively unaltered
and preserves the history and beauty of a traditional
village. In 1999, the district of Yeongam and the Ewha
Womans University Museum built the Yeongam Ceramic Culture
Center as a venue to display Yeongam's culture and history.
The Gurim Village Project 1 represents the second special
exhibition the Museum coordinated at the Center. Eight
Korean modern artists and architects, including Yuk Geun-byeon,
Lee Bul, Jo Deok-hyeon, and Min Hyeon-shik, utilized the
entire village as their stage to display an installation
art exhibit in order to express aspects of nature such
as earth, wind, and water, as well as the life and history
of the village. The exhibit was displayed in the galleries
and courtyard of the Yeongam Ceramic Culture Center, in
pavilions and old houses in Gurim village, and in the
port of Sangdaepo, the historical site from which Wangin
departed for Japan. |
| The
3rd Tradition, Searching the Origin of Earthenware (September
2000) |
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Since Koreans first made
earthenware in prehistoric times, it has been used in
everyday life as a medium for storage, transportation,
fermentation, and heating. Koreans created and developed
glazed and unglazed earthenware from the Three Kingdoms
period (57 B.C.-668), through the Unified Silla period
(661-935) and the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392), all the way
up to the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910). This vibrant and
natural earthenware, a reflection of traditional beauty,
was originally used to store fermented foods such as soybean
paste and kimchi, a tradition that continues to this day.
However, earthenware was long considered of little importance
in the history of Korean ceramics as it was overshadowed
by the glamour of celadon and white porcelain from abroad.
Earthenware was merely considered a traditional craft,
and its historic or artistic features were not emphasized.
That is why the Ewha Womans University Museum designated
earthenware as "the 3rd tradition," along with
celadon and white porcelain, and held an exhibition to
stress its historic and artistic values. Earthenware with
comb patterns from the Neolithic period (5000 B.C.-1000
B.C.), earthenware caskets from the Baekje kingdom (18
B.C.-660), jars from the Goguryeo kingdom (37 B.C.-668),
large jars from the Silla kingdom (57 B.C.-668), the earliest
known example of Korean glazed ceramic ware, which was
discovered in Yeongam-gun, Gurim-ri and dates from Unified
Silla, and various glazed and unglazed ceramics and earthenware
were displayed, showing the origins and flow of the history
of earthenware. Some 170 pieces of ceramics and earthenware
were exhibited, among which approximately 20 were from
other museums or personal collections. |
| College
of Arts and Design, Department of Ceramic Arts Professors'
Exhibition (September 2000) |
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The exhibition was the
first to be held in the newly decorated Modern Arts
Gallery within the Ewha Womans University Museum. The
works of five professors (Jo Jeong-hyeon, Gang Seok-yeong,
Kim Su-jeong, Yu Hae-ja, and Kim Ok-jo) from Ewha Womans
University's College of Arts and Design, Department
of Ceramic Arts were displayed in association with "The
3rd Tradition, Searching the Origin of Earthenware"
exhibition, showing how the spirit of the Korean ceramics
tradition is being carried on to this day. The pieces
on display included earthenware, white porcelain, celadon,
and color-grazed porcelain all with modern styles and
shapes. |
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