[KS] Korean Art market during the colonial period
Hyung Il Pai
hyungpai at eastasian.ucsb.edu
Tue Sep 25 21:23:33 EDT 2007
Dear List,
In response to Keith's question about looting, and the answer is "Yes."
By the early twentieth century, because of the popularity of Korean
ceramics, especially celadon amongst the Japanese collectors and
lovers of tea-bowls, a class of professional grave diggers had a new
occupation catering to many customers abroad and in Korea. Then as is
now, the black market in antiquities is a entirely a supply and demand
international trade where the item goes to the highest bidder.
Archaeological reports published by the Colonial Government Committee
on Antiquities during the colonial period write that the reason why
antiquities laws and systematic archaeological surveys were carried
out was to stop the looting so that their "imperial objects" should
stay in their colony, Korea.
When you also look at the illustrations of Koguryo tombs in the
reports, there are obviously holes dug in from the side and top of
tombs to get at the grave good and mural pieces. This is why there are
very few Koguryo or Paekche materials have been found in context, and
survive today in museums.
The second reason for the excavations was zaibatsu development to
build railroads, train stations, and infra-structure.
For example, the center of P'yongyang around 1915 was one of the first
regions to be excavated because of the building of the Onoda cement
factory.
The Colonial Government , the Imperial Household (Kunaisho) and the Yi
Royal family household funded and supported these colonial state
initiated projects.
As we already know, the most spectacular remains such as Sokkuram,
Pulguksa, Kumkwan Ch'ong ( Gold Crown Tomb) and Nangnang and Koguryo
tombs were all reconstructed with museums built close-by so the staff
could monitor the digs to prevent looting. These became cultural
destinations promoted to visiting Japanese royalty and businessmen to
show off the Ch'ongdokpu civilizing mission. Korea's remains were
promoted as the more authentic and reliable sources for understanding
the prehistoric origins of not only Korean but also Japanese
civilization because the Japanese archaeologists were not allowed to
investigate "sacred" imperial tombs (a policy which continues today).
When you look at colonial travel brochures near these sites, there
were already souvenir shops or omiyage shops where they sold "Korean
pottery" and arts andcrafts for the tourist market and collectors.
--
Hyung Il Pai (April 07-March 08)
Visiting Research Professor
International Research Center for Japanese Studies
Nishikyo-ku, Goryo, Oeyama cho 3-2, Kyoto 613-1192
Japan
Office) 81-75-335-2155
Fax) 81-75-335-2043
MESSAGES-81-75-335-2041
Quoting Frank Hoffmann <hoffmann at koreaweb.ws>:
> Just to add to what Keith Pratt just said:
>
> From what I gather so far very few Koreans bought contemporary art
> at the time, not for collection purposes in any case (rather for
> decoration of offices, business buildings, etc.). The reasons are
> obvious. What I found so far, but with still too little evidence, is
> that Korean painters produced, other than for the annual Chosôn Art
> Exhibition, works directly for Japanese living in Korea -- including
> a quite sizable amount of erotic art works (stylistic imitations of
> Qing Chinese works), usually in the form of traditional style
> albums. Besides, certainly works for travellers from Japan, usually
> showing Korean men and women in traditional dress, and usually
> strongly influenced in style by Japanese Nihonga. I don't know of
> any oil paintings being bought or ordered by Japanese -- which again
> makes a lot of sense. But I too can imagine that works that already
> hung in the Chosôn Art Exhibition, and had therefore gathered some
> value, were then being bought by Japanese (and/or Korean coll
> ec
> tors) such as Kim Sông-su. It should also be noted that many
> Japanese artists lived and worked in Korea. The residency
> requirement to participate in the Chosôn Art Exhibition was half a
> year, and many less successful Japanese artists tried to find there
> luck in Chósen, but without much success. Yet, they competed with
> local Korean artists in this very limited market, also produced lots
> of what is nowadays being called "local colors" painting in South
> Korea.
>
> Frank
>
> --
> --------------------------------------
> Frank Hoffmann
> http://koreaweb.ws
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