Arts of Korea: MFA Highlights

Great!

The Museum of Fine Arts Boston are producing an excellent inexpensive series on Highlights of the collections had bought 1 or 2 and was very impressed and got most of the rest Korean Art is less well known to many westerners --this is changing as museums like the MFA in Boston or the MMA or other museums publish handbooks or exhibition catalogues based on there collections--see bibliography The book has a brief introduction to Korean Art The sections are Early Korea --to the tenth century Goryeo Peroid( 918--1392 ) Joseon Period. (1392--1910) Modern Day Korea There is a very helpful 2 page 2 column timeline and 4 simple but very helpful maps The first map is of The"Three Kingdoms-- early 5 th century Goguryeo is in the North with 3 small Kingdoms in the south--Baekhe, Gaya, Silla. As you read the descriptions it is helpful to look at the details on the timeline and the maps A number of Buddhist objects are illustrated throughout this handbook.I don't know about Buddhism and am all to likely to put my foot in it. These objects are well illustrated in colour and the explanations appears helpful Korean Buddhist temple bells have a tubular pipe at the type to improve the quality of the sound over Chinese models The is a 13th century largish lacquered Sutra Box that would once have contained the Buddhist Writings This is on of 15 remaining Goryeo Sutra Boxes with inlaid lacquer work The Stoneware objects are numerous The one on the book cover --also see page 82--83 is exquisite. It is from the early 13 th century From the Joseon Peroid there are further excellent stoneware items Landscape painting and ink painting are illustrated as are several illustrated series of screens I saw some Korean Art when I worked in the UK a number of years ago I found this an interesting and well illustrated guide. A lot of thought has gone into making it a use friendly guide that you will return to in the future I look forward to going through the highlights volume on "China" and "Japan" among others Other titles to consider are Arts of Korea The Art of Korea: Highlights from the Collection of San Francisco's Asian Art Museum

Arts of Korea celebrates historical Korean art through 100 works from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The MFA has one of the finest collections of Korean art outside of East Asia, with particularly superb holdings of high-quality stoneware and lacquerware of the Koryo and Yi dynasties, Bronze Age funerary objects and Buddhist paintings and sculptures. Many of the objects in this book were originally intended for everyday use and tell a story not only about the people who used or collected these boxes, mirrors, jars, tiles and trays, but also about the people who made them. Set to coincide with the MFA's long-awaited Korean Gallery renovation, this is an affordable yet unique addition to any Asian art library, with essays that offer an ideal introduction to the history of Korean art.