The National Palace Museum of Korea holds a special exhibition “Royals Seals of the Joseon Dynasty” from August 15^th to October 8^th, in celebration of its first anniversary of the opening.

 

The exhibition is designed to disseminate the academic and artistic world reflected in the Royal Seals, and put on display the private seals owned by the royal family of the Joseon Dynasty and the books of impressions of the seals.

 

Seals have long been used both in the East and the West. The owner’s name and position were engraved on seals to identify him (or her) and display his credibility. In Sung and Yuan China, seals started to have an artistic aspect as well, representing personal tastes. Since then, seals have been developed into a comprehensive art form of calligraphy, illustration and sculpture: taking full advantage of the colors and forms of various materials such as stones, metals, woods and soil, the carver engraved meaningful words in a beautiful and balanced calligraphy style on the small face of the seal.

 

Seals were also called “Jeongak” due to the use of the calligraphy style of “Jeonseo” or chuan-shu. During the Ming dynasty of China, seal engraving became popular among scholars who sought to reach a certain level regarding writing poem, composition and painting: it was called “Munin Jeongak” meaning seal engraving by scholars. Therefore, this led to the advancement of the simple skill of seal engraving to the level of artistic expression.

 

During the Joseon dynasty, the Munin Jeongak was introduced to Korea, gaining popularity from scholars and the royal family alike. The seal of the Joseon Dynasty is largely divided into three types: those used for state affairs, such as the seal of state and the official seal; those symbolizing the dignity of the king and the queen such as the great seal made of jade and the seal engraved with the honorific title for the king; and those for personal use. Among these, the last type best reveals the artistic features and the literary tastes of the royal family of the Joseon Dynasty.

 

The exhibition mainly consists of the seals used by Heonjong, the 24^th king of the Joseon dynasty (r. 1834-1849) and his collection of seals. King Heonjong, the most prominent figure in the field of seal art, showed a considerable talent in and passion for art and literature and was quite interested in seals. He collected a lot of seals and even published the monumental “Bosodang Injon”, the book of impressions of seals from the late period of the dynasty (Heonjong would appreciate paintings and calligraphic works at the Bosodang and Nakseonjae Halls in the Changdeokgung Palace).

 

Among the King Heonjong’s collection are the seals of the great scholars of the age, not only from the Joseon dynasty but also from Ch’ing China. What makes his collection and the “Bosodang Injon” more valuable is that they display interaction between the king and scholars and academic companionship between Joseon and Ch’ing.

 

The exhibition is expected to serve as an opportunity to appreciate the seal art and literary hobby of the royal family of the Joseon dynasty and shed new light on the cultural background of the time through seals.

 

Also, the exhibition is accompanied by interesting lectures:

- “History of Korean Seals and Seal Engraving”: Kim Yangdong (Professor of Calligraphy, Keimyung University), August 23^rd

- “Heonjong’s literary hobby and his collection of paintings and calligraphy works”: You Hongjune (Administrator, Cultural Heritage Administration), September 6^th

- “King Heonjong and the Nakseonjae Hall”: Choi Jongdeok (Manager of the Changdeokgung Palace Office), September 20^th.