Lecture: Symbols of Sovereignty in Korea’s Silla Kingdom

 

Thurs, Jan 30 | 6:00–7:00

Fullerton Hall, Art Institute of Chicago

 

Gold Crown and a Pair of Pendants from Seobongchong Tomb, 5th century

Three Kingdoms period, Silla Kingdom (about 57 BCE–676 CE); Korea. National Museum of Korea, Bongwan 14319 and 14320. © National Museum of Korea.

 

The newly installed gallery of Korean art, generously supported by the National Museum of Korea, features a rich array of objects that reflect Korea’s religious, political, and material cultures. Two highlights are a gold crown and belt from the Silla kingdom (about 57 BCE–676 CE).

 

Worn by a ruler who also served as a high priest, the motifs on these objects and the way they were made reveal compelling narratives about the secular and sacred roles of Silla rulers as well as social status, gender, and Korea’s cultural history.

 

Join Yeonsoo Chee, associate curator of Korean art, for a discussion about the makers and wearers of these objects now on view in our galleries of Korean art.

 

Photo shows an elaborate gold belt extended horizontally in a light-gray studio space. Eight long extensions of oval-shaped gold segments dangle down from the horizontal belt, each of various lengths. At the end of one is a gold fish; another ends in a cashew-shaped piece of gold.

Gold Belt from Seobongchong Tomb

 

Three Kingdoms period, Silla Kingdom (about 57 BCE–676 CE), 5th century. Gold. Korea. National Museum of Korea, Bongwan 14321 and 14322. Treasure © National Museum of Korea.

 

 

About the Speaker

Yeonsoo Chee is associate curator of Korean art in the Arts of Asia department at the Art Institute of Chicago and a specialist in modern Korean paintings and the court art during the Joseon dynasty. Prior to joining the Art Institute, she worked at the National Palace Museum of Korea as curator and director of exhibitions and USC Pacific Asia Museum, southern California’s only museum dedicated to Asian art.  

 

*서봉총금관(瑞鳳塚金冠), 보물 제339호

경주 노서동 신라 무덤인 서봉총에서 출토된 높이 30.7㎝, 지름 18.4㎝, 드리개(수식) 길이 24.7㎝인 금관이다. 넓은 관 테 위에 5개의 가지를 세웠고, 상하에 점선으로 물결무늬를 찍고 나뭇잎 모양의 원판과 굽은 옥으로 장식했다.

https://www.museum.go.kr/site/main/relic/recommend/view?relicRecommendId=615034