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JOSEON DYNASTY CRAFTS & KOREAN WOMEN
 The Beauty and Style of
Joseon Dynasty Korean Women
Special Exhibition
from the Amore Museum Collection
From October 4 to December 20, 2005
Features a wide array of items used and worn everyday by women in Joseon Dynasty Korea. An excellent opportunity to experience the life and aesthetic of Korean women.
The Amore Museum, located in the suburbs of Seoul, Korea, houses an archive and artwork collection of approximately 8000 items, with a special focus on the lifestyles of Korean women and the Korean tea culture. The collection is traveling to Japan for the first time in commemoration of the Japan-Korea Friendship Year 2005, the 40th anniversary of the normalization between the two countries. The Japan Folk Crafts Museum, in collaboration with The Amore Museum, will show "MOT: The Beauty and Style of Joseon Dynasty Korean Women" from October 4 through December 20, 2005.
Buncheong, Brushed with White Slip
Joseon Dynasty (15th-16th Centuries)
H = 8.5 cm
The visiting exhibition consists of 210 crafts and works of art that will give us a glimpse of the costumes and cosmetics, household utensils and necessities, and furnishings used by Korean women during the late-Joseon Dynasty. All works were actually used by women from the upper to popular classes. The Joseon Dynasty aesthetic was modest and simple, but handsome and natural. They wore simply-designed costumes and enjoyed colorful, delicate accessories. They had various cosmetics and perfumes. The main household chore was in the kitchen with emphasis in serving good meals with a refined taste in utensil presentation. Much of their time was also devoted to sewing. During this dynastic period, women lived in back-rooms decorated with beautiful folk paintings (called "minga" or "minwha") and handsome pieces of furniture.
Society in late-Joseon Dynasty was dominated by a strong patriarchal social system. Women were obliged with duty before privilege, and perseverance came before liberty. The economic status of women was at the lowest in the late-Joseon period, in contrast to earlier times, and the great majority were deprived of education. In earlier times, women were the center of family and religious rituals. They had great power, for it was the women who received guests into the house, who organized and led the family in religious ceremonies. It was also customary for the groom to reside with the bride's family and thereafter start a family nearby. From the 16th century, however, all siblings including boys, began to take turns in conducting religious rituals. The role of sons gradually gained in importance, and by the 17th century, it was the first son who dominated all responsibilities. The role of the first son was not only expanded to cover the family's religious and social rites, but also extended to the full inheritance of family property and status. Over time, the role of women in family matters diminished greatly, as did their economic and social power. In the 18th-19th centuries, there emerged a small number of women who recognized the importance of the positive discovery of self in talent and education, and departed from traditional Confucius teachings that idealized the perfect woman as a good wife and wise mother.
Mirror Box, Mother of Pearl Inlay
Joseon Dynasty, W = 18.8 cm
(Left) Thimbles, Joseon Dynasty, L = 2.3 cm W = 2.5 cm
(Right) Case for paper sock (boeson) patterns
Joseon Dynasty, L = 8.0 cm W = 8.0 cm
 
(Left) Ten longevity Silver Ornamental Knife
Late-Joseon Dynasty, H = 14.6 cm
(Right) Perfume bar "norigae"
Joseon Dynasty (19th Century), H = 40.0 cm
Such recognition in self was reflected in the cosmetic culture, for women became very conscious about how they appeared. It was important for the woman to be beautiful when receiving guests at home and in public. The cosmetic culture rapidly developed along with beautiful utensils and accessories. Although there was a wide gap in taste and quality between items used by the upper class versus the common people, the desire of women to be beautiful and to feel beautiful remained the same. The Amore Museum collection highlights many items adored by the upper class, and many works from the Mingeikan collection show the healthy, popular beatuy of Joseon Dynasty crafts.
The beauty of these crafts and art goes far beyond the finishing touches of the artists who created them, for the tastes and artistic sensibilities of the user often enhanced and extended the inherent beauty of the object. Accessories look different depending on how they are worn and who is wearing them. Furniture and paintings are appreciated differently depending on how they are positioned in specific environments. This characteristic is the charm of everyday crafts and art, and is a universal quality that extends beyond time and geographical boundaries.
Jar, White Porcelain,
Joseon Dynasty (18th Century), H = 47.0 cm
Box (Hwagak-ham)
Decorated with painted ox-horn inlay
Joseon Dynasty, H = 14.5 cm W = 21.0 cm L = 21.0 cm
Dining Table, Joseon Dynasty, H = 25.0 cm
Earthenware Vanity Box, 4th-5th Centuries, W = 11.3 cm
Patchwork Jogakbo, Indigo-Dyed Ramie
Joseon Dynasty, L = 98 cm W = 100 cm
All works shown above from
The Amore Museum Collection
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 The Beauty and Style of Joseon Dynasty Korean Women
Oct. 4 - Dec. 20, 2005
Approximately 210 items will be on display, including pottery, furniture, needlework implements, ornamental hairpins, mirrors, and other pieces in the collection of The Amore Museum. These items were used by women of the late Joseon Dynasty, Korea. This will be the first-ever exhibit in Japan of such Korean crafts.
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