Korean Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection of Korean art is one of the most distinguished collections outside of Korea.
The Cleveland Museum of Art has been actively acquiring Korean art by gift and purchase since 1915. The collection features a robust selection of works in a variety of media. The holdings in ceramics are especially strong, and include a number of fine celadons from the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). The painting collection contains rare Goryeo Buddhist paintings, as well as Joseon dynasty (1392–1897) paintings such as landscapes and portraits. Its selection of folding screen paintings includes a notable 19th-century example from the genre of “scholars’ accouterments,” or chaekkori, as well as an important pair of 15th-century ink landscape screens by Yi Sumun, a Korean artist who painted in Japan. Bronze Buddhist statuary and ritual objects from the Three Kingdoms period (57 BC–AD 668) through the Goryeo dynasty attest to the sophisticated craftsmanship of these eras. The collection also has significant examples of early earthenware vessels and other archaeological materials.