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Casket with Four Guardian Animals on the inner walls, accompanied by an epitaph tablet dated 1197

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At A Glance

On View

Period

1197
Geography

Korea
Material

Slate
Dimension

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)
Accession Number

F1909.359a-g
EDAN ID

edanmdm:fsg_F1909.359a-g

Object Details

Inscription

Choe Hyo-jeo 崔孝著 (12th century)
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 (大德山), Hwanghaebuk-do province (黃海北道), 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 (崔孝著), reports that the bereaved buried the deceased, Kim Gong-sik? (金公湜?, pen name Yongsik (龍軾), 1129-1197) on the western hill of Daeduk-san (大德山), 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 (湜).' 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 새롭게 확인된 高麗墓誌銘: 金龍軾 묘지명·上黨縣君郭氏 묘지명·閔脩 묘지명 [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)

Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
Origin

Korea
Credit Line

Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Type

Container
On View

Freer Gallery 14: Rediscovering Korea's Past
Restrictions and Rights

CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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