H x W x D: 22.7 x 56.7 x 34.1 cm (8 15/16 x 22 5/16 x 13 7/16 in)
Type:
Container
Origin:
Korea
Date:
1197
Period:
Goryeo period
Description:
Burial chest, formed of six slabs of stone mortised and grooved; a separate slab bears an epitaph.
Stone. Brownish earth incrustation.
Decoration: incised on the inner walls, animals of the four quarters.
Inscriptions:
Inscription: "The inscription of the tomb of late Kui, member of Royal Academy."
Provenance:
Late 19th century or early 20th century
Reportedly unearthed on the western hill of Daedeok-san (???), Hwanghaebuk-do province (????), North Korea [1]
?-1909
Yamanaka & Company, Osaka, Japan acquired from an unknown source [2]
1909-1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in Osaka, Japan [3]
From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer [4]
Notes:
[1] The epitaph, written by Choe Hyo-jeo (???), reports that the bereaved buried the deceased, Kim Gong-sik? (????, pen name Yongsik (??), 1129-1197) on the western hill of Daeduk-san (???), three weeks after his death on September 22, 1197. The name of the deceased is not entirely clear, as the second character of his given name is partially chipped away. The remaining characters, however, indicate that the deceased's name was likely
'sik (?).' For a transcription of the epitaph, full translation
and an analysis of the casket, see
Sukyung Choi, "A closer look at Freer Casket: The life and death of the elites in Goryeo period" Research in Progress Series, Freer Gallery of Art & Arthur M. Sackler Museum July 15, 2020, Washington, D.C., copy in object file. For a Korean transcription of the epitaph, see Mingyeong Gang [Kang Min-kyeong], "Saeropge hwagin doen Goryeo myojimyeong: Gim Yongsik myojimyeong, Sangdanghyeongun Gwak-ssi myojimyeong, Minsu myojimyeong ??? ??? ?? ???: ??? ???·???? ?? ???·?? ??? [The Newly Identified Goryeo Memorial Inscriptions]" in Misul jaryo, no.96 (2019): 224-238.
[2] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 164, Charles Lang Freer Papers, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
[3] See note 2.
[4] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History:
Rediscovering Korea’s Past (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
Previous custodian or owner:
Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)
