The Ecclesiastes quote, "There is nothing new under the sun," is perfectly demonstrated at the Asian Art Museum right now at their Korean "Poetry in Clay" exhibit.
The ceramics in all these photos are from the 15th century, which in Korea's long history is the beginning of the final Joseon dynasty that stretched into the twentieth century.
Korean culture seems much older, deeper and sturdier than most of its Western counterparts.
This style of ceramics became so popular in its time that it was used as an offering for government taxation, but too much of it ended up being pilfered so they incorporated the name of the government bureau to which the tax tribute was being sent into the design.
Think of an ancient, elegant version of "This towel belongs to Holiday Inn."
I am a member of the Asian Art Museum and live a couple of blocks away, but don't attend very often, partly because of the airport security style shakedown one encounters from the guards on entering the museum.
This special exhibit from Seoul is so cool, though, that I've decided to make a visit to it as part of a weekly routine, on the way to the Heart of the City Farmers Market on Sunday mornings.
No comments:
Post a Comment