Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910

The longest ruling dynasty in Korean history, the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), lasted over 500 years and was a period of rich cultural life and artistic achievements.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art's (LACMA) latest exhibit, Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty is organized into five key themes illuminating practices of the King and His Court, the emergence of new ceremonies and events of the Joseon Society upper class, Ancestral Rituals and Confucian Values, continuity and change in Joseon Buddhism, and Joseon in Modern Times.

Along items from LACMA's collection, this first comprehensive exhibition in the United States is primarily drawn from the collection of the National Museum of Korea (NMK) in Seoul.

The exhibition features approximately 150 pieces of which many are designated national treasures of Korea, and are on view for the first time in the United States. Included are painted screens, scrolls, furnishings, costumes, accessories, and ritual wares. Exclusively on view at LACMA are the Peonies and the Royal Protocol for the Funeral of Crown Princess Heongyeonghyebin.

The Peonies (late 19^th century), a 10-fold floral motif screen used in rituals and ceremonies and a symbol of wealth, was initially reserved for use by the court, but towards the end of the Joseon period it was frequently used amongst commoners.

The Royal Protocol for the Funeral of Crown Princess Heongyeonghyebin (1815) documents the ritual wares used for the funeral of Royal concubine Hyebin (1735-1815), known posthumously as Queen Heongyeong. During the Joseon period funerals were lengthy, lasting nearly three years. 

The book provides a description and illustration of the name, material, specifications, production technique, and supplier of the ritual pieces in her funeral.

Immersive is the Hwagak technique, the flattening of ox horn to create paper-thin sheets, painted with mineral pigments, and then attached to wooden objects, such as furniture in women's quarters. On view is the colorful Box with Ox-Horn Decoration (late 19^th century), with designs of peonies, cranes, tigers, deer, tortoise, carp, as well as boys sitting on animals, a common Daoist theme in Hwagak ornamentation.

The first book to be translated and published in its entirety from English to the Korean Phonetic script (Hangeul), The Pilgrim's Progress (1895), is also on display, written by the English preacher and writer John Bunyan. Canadian Presbyterian missionary James S. Gale translated the text while the illustrations were created by the Korean painter Kim Jun-geun. 

Known in Korean as Cheollo Yeokjeong, the book is recognized for the fact that the Western characters and settings were replaced by illustrations from the Joseon period to allow Korean readers to connect with the context of the story.

The exhibit's artwork embodies traditions of the Joseon Dynasty and celebrates its artistic legacy still embraced in Korea today.

The exhibit runs through September 28, 2014, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), at the Hammer Building, Level 2, located at 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036. For more information 
call (323) 857-6000 or visit http://www.lacma.org/

Treasures from Korea is co-sponsored by the National Museum of Korea(NMK), the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH). The exhibition began its U.S. Presentation in Philadelphia (March2-May26, 2014) and concludes in Houston (November 2, 2014-January11,2015).