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Korean Gallery at the Peabody Essex Museum, U.S.A.

When the new Peabody Essex museum opens in June 2003, a renovated East Hall will become the first permanent home of the Korean art collection. The Yu Kil-chun Gallery, generously supported by grants from the Korea Foundation, Chosun Ilbo newspaper, and Yu Byung Duk, will reveal the deep roots of Korean art in the country's rich culture. On exhibit will be ceremonial regalia used at the royal court and in religious practices, as well as fine works that adorned the homes of the Korean gentry.

This splendid collection, with its emphasis on art from the nineteenth century, was established by Edward S. Morse, Director of the Peabody Museum from 1880 until 1916 (when he was named director emeritus). During three teaching and research trips to Japan in the 1870s and 1880s, Morse became committed to bringing the art of Asia to America. Together with his proteges Ernest Fenollosa, William S. Bigelow, and Charles G. Weld, he built major collections of Asian art in Boston-area museums. Beginning in June, for the first time in the museum's history, each Asian collection－Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Korean－will have its own gallery space.

Because of the relationships Morse established in Korea, he was called upon to assist with the first official delegation to the United States in 1883. One of the Junior members of the delegation, Yu Kil-chun, who was befriended by Morse, stayed in America to pursue his education. Yu's friendship further stimulated Morse's interest in Korean art and culture. When Yu returned to Korea, he wrote the first Korean book on the West, Observations of the Western World. Yu remains a respected figure in Korean history, remembered as a progressive advocate of internationalism. Letters that Yu sent to Morse and s he gave to the museum's nascent Korean collection will be on exhibit and accessible electronically to visitors in the gallery.
Bridal robe, 18th century; Silk, paper, cotton, wool, metallic thread
Among the works on display are several used in court ceremonies_for example, a courtier's blue silk robe worn during rituals at the royal ancestral shrine, a painted and gilded hat for a courtier, and an elaborately embroidered red silk robe originally made for the wedding of a princess and subsequently used by other brides. The wedding robe is adorned with peonies and phoenixes, signs of nobility, virtue, and prosperity. A wonderfully detailed eight-panel screen depicts processions, banquets, and performances given for the governor of Pyeongyang. More recently, with funds generously donated to the museum, we have been able to acquire two paintings with important religious functions. One is an eighteenth-century painting of a mountain spirit, a serene old man and his fierce tiger companion, that probably once hung in a small shrine at a Buddhist temple. Another painting, dating to the nineteenth century, boldly depicts an ancestral shrine, employing an illusion of depth to draw in the worshipper who stood before it to perform rituals for departed ancestors.
Powder flask, 19th century; Wood, ox horn, ox bone, metal, silk, paint
The portion of the gallery exhibiting decorative art for the upper class also features outstanding works that have been recently acquired. Among these pieces are inlaid lacquer-works, including an early-eighteenth-century box adorned with a simple and elegant pattern of lotuses in mother-of-pearl, and a sewing basket with animal couples exemplifying conjugal bliss. The latter has an interior scene of fishes, a traditional Korean of hope for a large family. A hemp wrapping cloth, used to protect stored clothing, represents the artistry of women who, with needle, thread, and mere scraps of cloth, fashioned textiles that made aesthetic use of color and geometry.

While most Korean collections in the West focus on ceramics and paintings, the Peabody Essex collection emphasizes the breadth of Korean art. In 1994, the National Museum in Seoul borrowed more than 200 s for an exhibition entitled "The Korean Collection from the Peabody Essex Museum." This event marked the first time that an American collection was brought back to Korea for exhibition.

It is with great excitement that we exhibit the Korean art collection in our new museum, linking this institution's remarkable past to its promising future.


Overview of The Peabody Essex Museum

The Peabody Essex Museum is the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States. It was founded in 1799, sixteen years after the establishment of the nation and nearly three-quarters of a century before the founding of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The founders of this museum of art and culture were among America's first global entrepreneurs, traveling the world in search of trade. The collections they amassed are exceptional for their provenance, age, quality, and significance.

Seven years ago, the Peabody Essex began a comprehensive campaign to conceptually and physically integrate, interpret, and exhibit the full breadth of museum collections for the first time in its 200-year history. The museum also set out to greatly enrich and enhance all its programs. During the last several years, the Peabody Essex has ranked among the top museums in the nation for collection acquisitions through purchase and gift.

The institution's $150 million+ transformation will result in the creation of a new and major museum that will serve people in Greater Boston, New England, the nation, and the world. When the new museum opens in June 2003, its facilities will rank among the 25 largest art museums in the nation. The suite of new galleries dedicated to changing exhibitions will be among the largest on the East Coast.

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