The Cultural and Artistic Links with the Sea

A najeon lacquer chest inlaid with nacre (mother-of-pearl) depicting a map of Tongyeong. The inlay on the top and sides of the chest give a realistic portrayal of old Tongyeong and a fishing village. The front, where the map of Tongyeong is portrayed using the thin-slicing technique (ggeun-eumjil), is particularly beautiful.

There is a low and stable base on the bottom part of the chest and the front and back of the bottom’s legs are held by supports called Jokdae. The hinged door which has a round front face is fastened with four studs and a ring lock is placed in the middle to avoid an unwanted open.

The landscape painting is drawn by a Joseon’s official and painter, Jung Sun(1676-1759). His courtesy name, Gyeomjae, is handwritten on the top left with his seal and the theme of the painting is not described on the painting. He left behind beautiful landscape paintings in the 『book of landscape, outskirts of Seoul』. As he drew the paintings spending his time traveling along the Han river, the painting also portrays a boat passing through the river. 

After the portions of its lower and upper parts of the body were produced individually using white clay, those were put together showing the mark in the middle. And it has asymmetrical shape. 

This type of blue and white porcelain jar was popular from the late 19th century to the early modern period. The pair of porcelain jars are decorated with the splendid images of dragon. The outlines of the necks have vertical lines and the sizes of the necks are relatively narrower than the bodies. The upper bodies grow wider drawing arch lines and the lower parts of the bodies shrink down. The mouths have the patterns of cherry blossom and cloud. And there are also floral images with the images of cloud on its upper bodies. The images of dauntless dragons surrounded by cloud are depicted on the bodies. Since a small amount of pigment was used, the colors are a little light. However, the dragons are well-depicted. The lower parts of the bodies are also adorned with the patterns of cherry blossom. 

The porcelain originated from Haeju area has the designs depicted on the body which use cobalt and iron oxide pigment. The mouth has a rolled-up shape. The upper body is wider than other parts and when it goes down to the lower body, it shrinks taking the shape of pottery.  

It is a government-manufactured sword produced in the late Joseon. The handle and sheath are covered with fishskin and decorated with brass. The blade of the sword is very sharp and gently curved. And there are twin dragons carved in the sword-guard made of brass. The metal support which surrounds some amount of the blade is made of brass and reinforced with red copper flat bars. The handle is covered with red lacquered fish skin and brass is used to decorate both edges. The yellowish green lines are tied across the handle making cross stripes and a red tassel dangles from the hole at the end of the handle. The sheath is ornamented with the figures of two salamanders. A structure and the lines tied on the sheath help wear the sword. The linchpin attached to the sheath functions as a fastener . Especially the lines decorated with the images of plum blossoms on the sheath allow it to spin 360 degrees, which is a unique Korean style.      

The armet is a part of a Korean brigandine set in the late Joseon dynasty period. The upper part of the armet has a hemispheric cover of which the top is decorated with vine patterns and the lower part is surrounded by a nailed support plate. The upper body of the armet is narrow but it becomes wider when it goes to the lower part of the armet. The body is made of leather colored black. The linear iron supports which have the patters of vines in the middle hold the armet vertically. The ornament once attached on the top is lost. There is a plume and its holder which also decorated with vine patterns. Despite the loss of the top part, the overall beautiful and exquisite decoration and the designs of dragons and Fenghuang (phoenix) are enough to show that the helmet was given by a king or used for ceremonial events.