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| 'Sea, Cranes and Peaches' created in the late Joseon era, and belonging to the collection of the Dayton Art Institute in the U.S., is on view at the National Palace Museum of Korea after undergoing restoration in Korea. / Courtesy of Cultural Heritage Administration |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
"Sea, Cranes and Peaches," a folding screen from the late Joseon era and now in the collection of the Dayton Art Institute in Dayton, Ohio, will be on public view at the National Palace Museum of Korea after being restored in Korea.
The exhibit was originally scheduled to be shown through Jan. 10, but it has been extended to Feb. 10 as the museum had to close down a day after its Dec. 4 opening after the number of COVID-19 cases spiked. The painting will return to its home in the U.S. in late February after the extended showing held in cooperation with the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation (OKCHF).
The painting, also known as "Haehakbandodo" in Korean, was created during the late Joseon era, around the late 19th century to early 20th century.
It features images of the sea, cranes and peaches ― three of the 10 longevity symbols, or "sipjangsaeng," which were popular in the royal court at the end of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom. The images symbolize longevity and embody a desire for eternal life, especially peaches which are said to ripen every 3,000 years according to Chinese mythology. Images of the sea, cranes, and peaches were a popular theme in the royal court, including royal weddings of the crown prince.
The folding screen painting in the Dayton Art Institute's collection is the largest among existing works of that kind and also a rare one adorned with gold leaf on the silk painting. It was exported to the U.S. in the 1920s and was altered into six panels.
It has been difficult to properly appraise Korean works of art that are in the hands of people or organizations located overseas due to a shortage of experts adept at preserving Korean artifacts. The OKCHF, in cooperation with the Cultural Heritage Administration, tries to assess the condition of Korean cultural heritage artifacts outside the country and provides support in their conservation and treatment.
As part of such efforts, the 2.1 meter by 7.2 meter folding screen painting was flown to Korea and brought back to mint condition, complete with gold leaf, following a 16-month restoration process.
The Dayton Art Institute has about 70 Korean artifacts among its vast collection of over 26,000 objects. The museum plans to renovate its Korean Gallery, with support from the National Museum of Korea, and showcase some 20 Korean cultural heritage artifacts, including the restored "Sea, Cranes and Peaches" folding screen painting.
Peter Doebler, curator of the Dayton Art Institute, said the painting was donated to the Ohio-based museum in 1941 by Mary Marvin Breckinridge Patterson. According to Patterson, the screen was purchased by her uncle Charles C. Goodrich in the late 1920s.
"When the painting came to the museum, it was first identified as Japanese probably due to the use of gold leaf and perhaps some of the subject matters such as cranes. However, in 1958, the art historian Sherman Lee visited the museum and re-identified it as Chinese, 16-17th century," Doebler said.
The screen was displayed in the Asian Gallery, before going into storage for decades due to issues over its condition.
In 2017, Kyoto Institute of Technology professor Misato Ido and Seoul National University lecturer Kim Soo-jin visited the museum to see the painting in person as part of their research project on screen paintings across Korea, China and Japan and attributed the "Sea, Cranes and Peaches" to Joseon for several reasons.
"These include its large size, which is over two meters in height and seven meters in width, the use of silk rather than paper as a painting surface, the theme of the 10 symbols of longevity, and the 12-screen format," Doebler said.
Gold leaf squares used for this painting are also smaller than those typically found on Japanese screens.
Kim argued that this painting is similar to "Cranes and Peaches" at the Honolulu Museum of Art, which is believed to have been created by royal court commission in 1902, and further consultations with Korean art experts led to the conclusion that "Sea, Cranes and Peaches" was most likely created around the early 20th century and was related to the Joseon royal court.
Doebler introduced the painting at a colloquium hosted by the National Museum of Korea in 2018 and drew the attention of the OKCHF, which offered a conservation grant in 2019.
