::: Ewha Womans University Museum :::

In Search of the Maehwa Blossom (March 1997)
	When the season changes from winter to spring, plum blossoms, or maehwa , greet the world earlier than the other flowers. Maehwa is one of the sagunja, or four gracious plants, along with the chrysanthemum, orchid, and bamboo, that symbolize perseverance in overcoming hardship and adversity. The maehwa has long been used to represent the beginning, spring, love, long life, and courage in Asia. The maehwa, along with the pine tree and bamboo, is also considered one of the three friends that endure winter, and has been a frequent motif for poets and writers. For this exhibit, pieces from the Ewha Womans University Museum collection were displayed along with personal possessions and pieces from other museums. The exhibition showed the scholar's love and recognition of the flower through the maehwa displayed in ancient paintings, ceramics, furniture, accessories, stationery, and modern paintings. The 127 pieces were divided into five groups with the following titles: "Maehwa Blooming on Ceramic Ware;" "Maehwa Blooming in the Snow;" "Message of Love and Spring;" 'Blooming Alone in the Cold Winter Snow;" and "Maehwa in Paintings." Also displayed were apricot flowers on Goryeo (918~1392) celadon, apricot flowers painted on Joseon (1392~1910) white porcelain in blue, iron, and cinnabar underglaze, apricot flowers drawn alongside poems on pure white porcelain, maehwa on accessories, furniture, dressers, and folding screens, maehwa on stationery such as brush holders, ink stones, ink sticks, and stamps made of paper, all of which reflect the aloofness of the Joseon literati, and, finally, maehwa in paintings from the Joseon dynasty to the present day.
The Beauty of Ancient Furniture (1996)
	Of the more than 500 pieces of wooden furniture owned by Ewha Womans University Museum, 163 Joseon dynasty (1392-1910) pieces dating from the late 19th to early 20th century were selected and displayed. The furniture was categorized according to whether it was used in the sarangbang (men's quarters), anbang (women's quarters), or the pantry. The sarangbang was the men's living room, so most of its furniture was simple and natural, reflecting the integrity of the Joseon literati. The furniture of the sarangbang included book shelves, desks, stationery chests, desks used in temples to read Buddhist scriptures, and miscellaneous writing accoutrements such as brush holders. Everyday necessities were also displayed including cigarette cases, hat cases, manggeon (a headband woven from horsehair used to hold men's hair in place under a hat) cases, blankets, document holders, reins, and jaepan (the mats placed underneath ashtrays and chamber pots in order to protect the floor). There were even a few pieces of wooden furniture glamorously decorated with red or black lacquer or lacquer ware inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The anbang was the main quarters of the women, who were in charge of all matters related to food and clothing. The furniture and artifacts in the anbang included chests, drawers, storage boxes, sewing boxes, and dressers. Most of the furniture was lacquer ware decorated with inlaid mother-of-pearl or painted ox-horn sheet handicrafts. Pantry furniture was mostly used in the kitchen, pantry, or living room. Pantry furniture on display included cupboards, wooden cases for holding rice and other grains, and small tables that were used to carry food. Most of the small tables were royal tables decorated with red and black lacquer.
Korean Costumes and Ornaments (1995)
	120 pieces of clothing, including those collected by the Ewha Womans University College of Home Science and Management and later transferred to the Ewha Womans University Museum, as well as those donated by Professors Kim Hae-kyeong and An Hyeon-min were put on display. The exhibition displayed men's, women's, and children's daily clothing, ceremonial dresses, shoes, crowns, and hats worn from the late 19th to the early 20th century. Also displayed were 15th, 17th, and 18th century clothing found in tombs and a palace ceremonial dress that was restored. The most impressive displays were the court dress with golden crown and green silk dress worn by the father of King Gojong (1820-1899), an overcoat worn by boys on the first birthday, the funeral dress that the royal family wore during the national funeral of the last king of Joseon, and wedding costumes worn by brides in the Gaeseong district.
Blue-and-White Porcelain in the Joseon Period from the Bunwon-ri Government Kiln: the Last Government Kiln of Joseon (1994)
	Ceramics to be used within the palace were produced in government kilns. The last royal kiln was built in 1752 in Gwangju-gun, Bunwon-ri, however, due to the political and economic chaos at end of the 19th century, the kiln was privatized in 1883 and operated until the early 20th century. The majority of ceramics produced from the government kiln were pure white porcelain and porcelain with underglaze blue-and-white and coated with a clear bluish-white glaze. An especially large quantity of excellent porcelain with underglaze blue-and-white of various shapes and designs were created in this government kiln. The Ewha Womans University Museum is renowned, at home and abroad, for its wide collection of this porcelain. Other pieces on display included water-droppers in the shapes of animals, houses, and peaches, as well as stationery and food vessels, such as jars, bottles, bowls, and impressive tableware. Plates engraved with Chinese characters were also exhibited.
Excavation Momoir about Joseon White Porcelain Kiln Site: Report of Excavation Report at Usan-ri No.9 White Porcelain Kiln Site (1993)
	The Ewha Womans University Museum is well known for its wide collection of and extensive research on pottery. In 1986, the Museum excavated a government kiln in Gwangju-gun Usan-ri, and a private kiln in Seungju-gun Hugok-ri, both of which produced white porcelain during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910). This exhibition showed not only the results from many excavations done from 1986-1992, but also white porcelain excavated from private kiln that were collected by the Ho-am Art Museum, Gwangju National Museum, and the Mokpo University Museum. Porcelain excavated from government kilns, such as the 5th and 9th kiln at Gwangju-gun, Buncheon-ri, the 2nd and 3rd kilns at Seondong-ri, and the 9th kiln at Usan-ri were compared with the white porcelain produced in local kilns, such as Seungju-gun, Hugok-ri, Gwangju-gun, Chunghyo-dong, Gunpo-gun, Sanbeon-dong, and Jangseong-gun, Daedo-ri. The Museum also exhibited layouts of kilns and implements used in firing the white porcelain so that the public could study the internal structures of kilns and understand the processes of making white porcelain. This exhibition also displayed the report on the excavation of the 9th kiln at Gwangju-gun, Usan-ri done in 1992.

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