Asian Cultures Collection – Korea

The collection came into existence in the 1950s from the gifts from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, enriching our collections with a set of traditional costumes (mostly women’s and children’s), replicas of traditional Korean pottery, and samples of folk art, puppets and masks.

A small set of greenware (celadon) pottery with carved decorations, produced during the Goryeo Dynasty (10th to 14th centuries CE) and the 15th and 16th century ceramics were acquired through small-scale purchases. Beside these, the collection contains samples of other artisan techniques – works in lacquer and nacre inlay from the 19th and the early 20th centuries. Korean sculpture is represented by the gilded bronze figure of Bodhisattva Gwan-eum dating from the 16th/17th centuries. Korean ink wash painting is represented by several samples of 20th century art.