Joseon-era vase taken to Japan among latest treasures designated by Korean gov’t

A buncheong vase with incised fish and geometric patterns that the Korea Heritage Service announced on April 30 would be designated as a treasure. [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

 

A Joseon-era ceramic vase taken to Japan during the colonial period and later sold at a record price overseas is set to be designated a treasure by the Korea Heritage Service (KHS), officials said April 30. 

 

The vase is an unusual example of
buncheong, traditional white slip-coated stoneware that was popular in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). It is one of seven artifacts to recently receive the designation, along with 10 Buddhist temple buildings.

 


 

Although buncheong ware was originally utilitarian, it became highly prized by Japanese collectors from the 16th century onward as ceremonial vessels for pouring alcohol. Many buncheong wares and other ceramics were taken from Korea during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation of the peninsula.

 

The vase recently designated a treasure is about 23 centimeters (9 inches) tall and has flattened sides, with fish rendered in simple linear strokes on one face and bold, abstract geometric patterns on the other. It is believed to have been produced in the Jeolla region during the 15th to 16th centuries.

 

It was first publicly shown in Korea in 1996 at an exhibition at Hoam Museum of Art in central Seoul, almost a century after it was taken to Japan. It fetched $3.13 million at a Christie’s auction in New York in April 2018 — the highest price ever recorded for buncheong ware — and is currently held in a private collection.

 

“The piece is generally well preserved, and the line patterns and wave-and-fish motifs expressed on both sides are highly original and artistically outstanding, making it worthy of designation as a treasure for preservation,” explained a KHS official.

 

A pair of gilded wooden Bodhisattva statues at Wibong Temple in Wanju, North Jeolla, that the Korea Heritage Service announced on April 30 would be designated as treasures. [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

 

Other artifacts singled out by the KHS include painted murals at Beomeo Temple in Busan and Naeso Temple in Buan County, North Jeolla, as well as two 17th-century gilded wooden Bodhisattva statues at Wibong Temple in Wanju, North Jeolla, that were stolen in 1989 and recovered in 2016.

 

Among the newly nominated treasures is a painting portfolio attributed to the mid-Joseon literati artist Lee Gyeong-yun (1545–1611), held by the Horim Museum. The portfolio contains a mix of landscape and figure paintings by Lee and other artists, along with inscriptions that provide rare insight into how Lee felt regarding the art.

 

“The portfolio includes poems written by the scholar Choi Rip (1539–1612), making it a rare case in which the paintings as well as records of the original owner’s appreciation of the art have been preserved together,” said the KHS official.

 

One of the paintings in the art portfolio of Joseon-era literati Lee Gyeong-yun, which the Korea Heritage Service announced on April 30 would be designated as treasure. [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

 

Other treasures nominated by the agency include six subsidiary temple halls at Hyeondeung, Gagyeon, Seonun, Seonam, Girim and Songgwang temples and four monks’ residential quarters at Janggok, Naeso, Sungrim and Yeongcheon temples, marking a shift in focus toward overlooked aspects of Korea’s Buddhist architectural heritage.

 

Built or rebuilt between the 17th and 19th centuries, these structures offer a window into everyday monastic life rather than ceremonial worship.

 

“These nominations follow efforts to assess and uncover the value of Buddhist temple buildings which have been overshadowed by main halls, stone pagodas and statues,” said the KHS official. “The 10 structures selected this time were built as spaces for mountain practice and daily life in temples, and they hold high historical, artistic and academic value as they reflect changes in lifestyles over time.”

 

The agency plans to gather public opinion for 30 days before finalizing the designations after deliberation by the Cultural Heritage Committee, which is set to be reorganized into the National Heritage Committee.

 

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY KANG HYE-RAN [[email protected]]