Skip to Content

Lecture: Symbols of Sovereignty in Korea’s Silla Kingdom

Thurs, Jan 30 | 6:00–7:00

Talk

Share

Admission actions

  • Register
  • Registration required; free with museum admission.

Photo shows an elaborate gold crown in a light-gray studio space. From the crown band various vertical elements branch organically upward. The gold appears hammered with designs, and other bits of gold and cashew-shaped beads hang from it. Two long gold pendants, composed of several fine parts, hang from the band on each side.

Gold Crown and a Pair of Pendants from Seobongchong Tomb


Three Kingdoms period, Silla Kingdom (about 57 BCE–676 CE), 5th century. Gold and jade. Korea. National Museum of Korea, Bongwan 14319 and 14320. Treasure © National Museum of Korea.

The newly installed gallery of Korean art, generously supported by the National Museum of Korea, features a rich array of objects that reflect Korea’s religious, political, and material cultures. Two highlights are a gold crown and belt from the Silla kingdom (about 57 BCE–676 CE).

Worn by a ruler who also served as a high priest, the motifs on these objects and the way they were made reveal compelling narratives about the secular and sacred roles of Silla rulers as well as social status, gender, and Korea’s cultural history.

Join Yeonsoo Chee, associate curator of Korean art, for a discussion about the makers and wearers of these objects now on view in our galleries of Korean art.

Photo shows an elaborate gold belt extended horizontally in a light-gray studio space. Eight long extensions of oval-shaped gold segments dangle down from the horizontal belt, each of various lengths. At the end of one is a gold fish; another ends in a cashew-shaped piece of gold.

Gold Belt from Seobongchong Tomb


Three Kingdoms period, Silla Kingdom (about 57 BCE–676 CE), 5th century. Gold. Korea. National Museum of Korea, Bongwan 14321 and 14322. Treasure © National Museum of Korea.

About the Speaker

Yeonsoo Chee

Yeonsoo Chee is associate curator of Korean art in the Arts of Asia department at the Art Institute of Chicago and a specialist in modern Korean paintings and the court art during the Joseon dynasty. Prior to joining the Art Institute, she worked at the National Palace Museum of Korea as curator and director of exhibitions and USC Pacific Asia Museum, southern California’s only museum dedicated to Asian art.  

If you have any questions about programming, please reach out to museum-programs@artic.edu.

Closed captioning will be available for this program. For questions related to accessibility accommodations, please email access@artic.edu.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share