European Porcelain for the Royal Court in the Late Chosŏn Dynasty: Production, Analysis and Evaluation

Abstract

In accordance with the accession of the Emperor and establishment of the Korean Empire, Kojong’s government mandated modification of the traditional way of receiving envoys by altering rituals to fit the West, with Western style banquets using European tableware. These tableware and toiletry were imported from France, Britain and Germany. This study examines European porcelain in terms of stylistic features, production technology and periodization. While previous museum catalogues provide general information on the European porcelain, existing scholarship is limited to French-Korean relations in porcelain production and the armorial crest on craftworks of the Korean Empire period. Through careful analysis of European porcelain, this study revises errors in the catalogues. The examination of each object, made of durable and innovative material compounds produced with the best industrial production technology of the time, ultimately demonstrates the Chosŏn court consumed Western porcelain in pursuit of a modern state.

Keywords

• Late Choso
• Kojong’s Reformative Strategy
• Royal Court
• Western Style Banquet
• European porcelain