Queen Mother of the West returns from the US in 50 years

National Palace Museum purchases Joseon-era Yojiyeondo painting in US 

5m long Eight-panel Folding Screen depicting Seowangmo banquet

 

 

 

 

On the 27th, the National Palace Museum revealed a Joseon-era royal eight-panel folding screen that was purchased in the United States last year.

 

Made in the 19th century, the 5.04m long and 2.21m wide screen is Yojiyeondo (瑤池宴圖) painting depicting the Banquet of Seowangmo, Queen Mother of the West, with immortals arriving at her palace with peach garden. 

 

According to the museum, this folding screen was owned by an American, had been purchased in Korea and brought to the United States by his or her father who served as USFK in Korea more than 50 years ago.

 

 

Exhibited at an auction held in Korea in September last year, the work was bought for 2 billion won by the Cultural Heritage Administration running the museum. 

 

At the time of the auction, the new owner of the work was known only as a domestic institution. 

 

When examining this screen, the Palace Museum found newspapers of the Chosun Ilbo in 1957 and the Dong-A Ilbo in 1959 on the back of a screen panel.

 

This confirms that the American who originally purchased it had repaired it in Korea before taking it to the United States.

 

 

Yojiyeondo (‘Banquet at Yaochi Pond’) depicts the banquet held in Mount Kunlun, the abode of Xi Wang Mu. One of the magical tales surrounding Mount Kunlun has it that eating fruits from the peach trees in Xi Wang Mu’s orchard, which ripen every three thousand years, grants eternal youth and longevity.

 

In Korea, given the existence of a portrait of Xi Wang Mu on a mural inside the Goguryeo tomb, Gamsinchong, this Taoist deity must have been known no later than the Three Kingdoms period.

 

Royal paintings with these Taoist themes were especially popular in the late Joseon Dynasty in hopes of long prosperity for the country and the dynasty.

 

Yojiyeondo, known so far, is representative of works from the 18th to 19th centuries held by the National Museum of Korea and the Gyeonggi Province Museum. This painting is believed to bave been made before the 19th century.

 

 

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미국서 50년만에 귀환 조선왕실 대형병풍 ′요지연도′ 첫 공개