| Funerary
Models & Epitaph Tablets: Myeong-gi & Myoji (1978) |
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Myeonggi are funerary objects,
such as figurines, animal figures, and vessels, that were
buried with the dead, while myoji are epitaph
tablets that bore inscriptions about the dead. The universal
practice of burying various objects and placing epitaphs
on tombs existed since ancient times, and Korea was not
an exception to this tradition. Examining what was buried
in tombs and written on epitaph tablets provides valuable
clues to understanding the burial customs of the past.
This exhibition consisted of pottery from the Silla (57
B.C.-668) and Gaya periods (42-562), earthen figurines
of ducks, houses, ships, and candles, as well as small
white porcelain vessels and masks from the Joseon dynasty
(1392-1910). Myoji displayed during this exhibition
included Buncheong ware, white porcelain, and blue-and-white
porcelain epitaph tablets. There were also rubbings of
myoji from the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C.-668)
and the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392). |
| Small
Wood Works (1977) |
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This exhibition consisted of some 90
pieces of small wood works divided, as are all wooden
artifacts in the possession of the Ewha Womans University
Museum, into the following five categories: furniture;
small wood works; serving tables with legs; lacquer ware
inlaid with mother-of-pearl; and painted ox-horn sheet
handicrafts. Small wood works are defined as smaller pieces
of furniture or objects that scholars widely used in their
studies, such as brush stands, book shelves, small writing
stands, cases for hats, ash trays, cases for paper work,
and lamp stands. They also include cases for arrows and
gunpowder. In spite of their sometimes diminutive stature,
many of these wooden objects were beautifully decorated
with mother-of-pearl inlay or painted ox-horn sheets,
and evidence the refined tastes of Joseon dynasty (1392-1910)
literati. |
| Gisagyecheob
: An Illustrated Album Commemorating and Eighteenth-Century
Gathering of the Members of the Hall of Elder Statesmen(1976) |
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The Gisagyecheob, designated as Treasure
No. 638, is a silk album with colored paintings and writings
made to commemorate the ceremony that King Sukjong (1675~1720)
held with his high-level subjects over the age of 70,
to celebrate his own 60th birthday. Work on the Gisagyecheob
began in 1719 and was completed in 1720, after King Sukjong's
death. It is composed of a total of twelve volumes. Contained
in the Gisagyecheob are an introduction, writings by King
Sukjong, five paintings of the ceremony, a list of participants,
portraits and poems of ten members, and a list of those
who produced the work itself. An accurately dated and
well preserved complete volume of the Gisagyecheob was
revealed for the first time in this exhibition, thereby
providing important information on the history of painting,
clothing, and traditional culture. |
| Stationary
(2) Brush Stands (1975) |
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Brush holders and brush stands are stationery
items with an intimate relation to literary activities.
A brush holder is a round, square or hexagonal cask in
which brushes are kept, and a brush rack is used to hang
brushes. Casks larger than brush holders are usually paper
roll holders, which come in a variety of shapes and designs.
On display were simple wooden brush holders made from
paulownia, zelkova, and bamboo, as well as brilliant wooden
holders decorated with lacquer-ware inlaid with mother-of-pearl
and black cinnabar lacquer, stone brush holders made with
white, red, and green stone, and ceramic brush and paper
holders dating from the late 19th to early 20th century.
Most of the artifacts on display consisted of ceramic
brush and paper roll holders, and, among these, the White
Porcelain Paper Roll Holder with Tiger and Pine Tree Design,
the White Porcelain Paper Roll Holder with Grapevine in
Underglaze Blue and Iron, and brush holders with lotus,
peach, plantain, and tortoise shell openwork designs were
the highlight of the exhibition. All the brush stands
exhibited were of ceramic. Among them, the fan and mountain-shaped
plain white porcelain brush stand, and the mountain-shaped
brush stand with landscape design in underglaze blue were
extraordinary. |
| Stationary
(1) Ink-stone and Water Dropper (1974) |
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In Asia, various stationery items, such
as brushes, ink sticks, ink stones, and water droppers,
have long been used in painting and writing. These tools
are not only daily necessities but also excellent works
of art, reflecting an artistic and noble temperament.
The Ewha Womans University Museum has collected various
types of stationary from the Three Kingdoms period (57
B.C.-668) to the Joseon dynasty (1392~1910). The ceramic
stationary items produced at the Bunwon-ri kiln are particularly
highly acclaimed at home and abroad. The theme of this
first special exhibition dedicated to stationery was "the
ink stone and the water dropper."
The ink stone is an essential tool on which ink sticks
or pigment is ground for painting or writing. Earthenware
ink "stones" from the Three Kingdoms period
and Unified Silla (668 A.D.-935), ink stones proper from
Goryeo (918~1392), and ceramic ink "stones"
from Joseon (1392~1910) were put on display.
The water dropper is used to place a measured amount of
water onto the ink stone prior to grinding the ink stick.
It has two holes--one out of which the water flows, and
another into which air flows--to adjust the amount of
water flow. Most of the water droppers on display were
ceramic water droppers from the Joseon dynasty, and they
took on various forms. Example include geometrical shapes,
such as circles, squares, hexagons, heptagons, and octagons,
animal shapes, such as birds, ducks, the mythical animal
haetae, turtles, and butterflies, and also shapes
from everyday life, such as houses, mountains, peaches,
reeds, and knees. Water droppers are made of white porcelain,
black-brown glaze, and onggi (stoneware). The
white porcelain water droppers include not only plain
white porcelain but also water droppers with landscapes,
plants, animals, and geometrical designs painted with
pigment such as underglaze copper and underglaze iron.
Water droppers may be seen as the essence of stationery,
and, depending on the ways in which their shapes, designs,
and materials blend together, water droppers may appear
noble, innocent, or even humorous. |
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