Sinchukjinyeondo Painting Bottle

This eight-panel folding screen depicts the jinyeon (court banquet) held in July 1901 to celebrate Emperor Gojong's fiftieth birthday. It shows four scenes: panels 1-2 depict the outer banquet at Hamnyeongjeon Hall of 26 July; panels 3-4 the inner banquet at Hamnyeongjeon Hall of the 27th; panels 5-6 the night banquet at Hamnyeongjeon Hall held the same night; and panel 7 the following day's banquet at Hamnyeongjeon Hall of the 29th. The last panel bears a list of the senior officials and clerks of the Office for the Banquet who prepared and carried out the event, showing that the screen was a commemorative screen produced by that office. The senior officials were Min Yeong-hwi (1852-1935), Director-General of the Bureau of Military Affairs of the Imperial Headquarters, acting concurrently in that post; Kim Seong-geun (1835-1919), Councillor of the State Council and concurrently Scholar of the Kyujanggak; and Yi Ji-yong (1870-?), Councillor of the State Council. The clerks, eleven in all with the officials above, were Yi Gyu-baek (1863-?) of the Ministry of Finance; An Pil-yong, Guard Officer of the Office of Crown Prince Yeong; Seo Byeong-yeom (1852-?) of the Ministry of the Interior; Yi Beom-sin of the Office of Communications; Seo Sang-gyeong of the Office of the Royal Stables; Yun Tae-gil of the Ministry of Finance; Im Geon-sang of the Gyobangsa, the office of court music and dance; and Yun Hyeong-gu of the State Council. At the end is written "Gwangmu 5th year, sinchuk, seventh month", giving the date of the banquet and showing that the screen was made in 1901. From the Musin jinchan dobyeong of 1848 onward it was customary for the first scene of such banquet screens to show a jinha, a congratulatory audience scene; this work is unusual in omitting the jinha scene and showing only the banquet scenes. The Sinchuk jinyeon uigwe, the Royal Protocols of the 1901 banquet, also survives, making it possible to verify the details closely. The first scene, the outer banquet at Hamnyeongjeon, shows the first outer banquet held during the Korean Empire period; centred on Emperor Gojong, its venue is more open in its furnishings than the other scenes. The yellow-decorated curtains and table cloths, the Taegeukgi national flag raised on the outer platform, and the soldiers in new-style uniforms all convey the changes of the Korean Empire period. In the second scene, the inner banquet, the seat of the empress, Empress Myeongseong, was vacant, so Emperor Gojong alone was the central figure. In the third scene, the night banquet, the glass lanterns, candlesticks and gauze lanterns shown hanging indicate that the time is night. The fourth scene, the following day's banquet, depicts a banquet with the crown prince as the central figure, held to comfort the palace women and the senior officials of the Office for the Banquet who had prepared the event; as the crown prince was its host, the indoor table cloths were changed to red. The meticulous, beautiful detail of the screen conveys well the splendid atmosphere and luxurious decoration of a royal court banquet. Its composition, the very fine, loosely woven silk ground, the colouring technique applied from the reverse side, the use of gold pigment, and the handling of light and shade all display the format, technique and style typical of royal court banquet screens since the 19th century. The clear, straight outlines and the colouring applied from the reverse give the work a vivid yet deep quality, and its mounting retains its original, never-remounted form. Along with this artistic excellence, the screen is highly significant as the only known example depicting the July 1901 banquet.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seodaemun-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산