The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 28, 2022

Altar High Chair (Kyo-Yi)

영좌교의 (靈座交椅)

1800s

Part of a set. See all set records

Korea, Joseon dynasty

(1392-1910)

Pine nut wood

Overall: 128.4 x 52 cm (50 9/16 x 20 1/2 in.)

Gift of The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll and Roberta Carroll, M.D. in memory of Robert P. Bergman 1999.120.3

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

The belief in two types of souls, the spiritual and the corporeal, embodied the core concept of ancestral worship in traditional China and Korea. While the corporeal soul is believed to reside in the tomb, the spiritual soul, in the spirit house, guards his or her descendants.

Description

Many homes in premodern Korean society had a memorial shrine for preparing and holding ancestral rites. Placed on the top of a tall chair, this miniature edifice (called the spirit house) served as a temporary residence for visiting ancestral spirits. On the table, a variety of delicacies such as fruits, rice, meat, and wine would be placed to treat those spiritual guests.

Citations
Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2014.
Deuchler, Martina. “Mourning and Funerary Rites.” In The Confucian Transformation of Korea (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press), 1992.
Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1999.120.3