The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

Ten panels that combine and fold horizontally to display a painting of shelves of various sizes. The shelves are filled with golden books and various colorful items. The background is painted in a deep, rich blue.

Books and Scholars’ Accoutrements

late 1800s

Yi Taek-gyun

(Korean, 1808–after 1883)
Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
ten-panel folding screen; ink and color on silk
Overall: 197.5 x 395 cm (77 3/4 x 155 1/2 in.); Painting only: 139.3 x 330.8 cm (54 13/16 x 130 1/4 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 2011.37
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

A convincing hypothesis that connects the Korean chaekgado tradition with the Renaissance tradition of illusionistic studiolo through the technique of trompe-l'œil and Chinese Qing period treasured cabinet paintings was first made in Park Shim-eun's thesis (2002).

Description

First produced around the second half of the eighteenth century, chaekgado (literally, “pictures of bookshelves”) flourished throughout the 1800s as a royal emblem. And soon this pictorial genre became a popular furnishing item for aristocrats' elegant studies. The third panel from the right bears a hidden seal that reveals the artist: Yi Taek-gyun, a prominent court artist active in the late 1800s.
  • 2011
    (Christie's New York, Japanese & Korean Art, New York, NY, 23 March 2011, lot 992, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2011–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Park, Shim-eun. " The Origin of Chaekkado in Choson Period." Master's Thesis, Academy of Korean Studies, 2002. dl.nanet.go.kr
    Black, Kay E., and Edward W. Wagner. "Ch'aekkŏri Paintings: A Korean Jigsaw Puzzle." Archives of Asian Art 46 (1993): 63–75. www.jstor.org
    Sin, Mi-ran. “Objects in Chaekgeori Paintings [책거리 그림과 器物硏究].” Misul sahak yeongu no. 268 (2010): 169–194. www.dbpia.co.kr
    Christie, Manson & Woods International Inc, New York. Japanese & Korean Art. 23 March 2011. Lot 992. Reproduced: lot 992
    Franklin, David and C. Griffith Mann. Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 274–275
    “Art of Asia Acquired by North American Museums, 2010-2011.” Archives of Asian Art, vol. 62, 2012, pp. 105–153. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 114, fig 11 www.jstor.org
    Ahn, Dae-hoe. "Leisure and Cultural Phenomena in the Late Joseon Dynasty [조선 후기 취미생활과 문화현상]." Hanguk munhwa (2012): 65–96.
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 255; Reproduced: pp. 246–247
    McCormick, Sooa. "Chaekgeori: Books and other things in Korean painted screens.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 57, no. 4 (July/August 2017): Cover, 7–9. Reproduced: Cover, p. 7; Mentioned: pp. 7–9 archive.org
    McCormick, Sooa Im. “Taste of Distinction: Screens of Scholar’s Accouterments." In Chaekgeori: The Power and Pleasure of Possessions in Korean Painted Screens. Albany: SUNY Series in Korean Studies, 2017. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 50–62
    Chung, Byung-mo and Sunglim Kim. Chaekgeori: The Power and Pleasure of Possessions in Korean Painted Screens. Albany: SUNY Series in Korean Studies, 2017.
    Breedlove, Byron. “All Bookshelves Are Magical.” Emerging Infectious Diseases journal (October 2020) vol. 26, no. 10: 2537–2538. dx.doi.org
    McCormick, Sooa Im. "The Past and Present of the Korean Collection in the Cleveland Museum of Art." In The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, 국외소재문화재재단, and An Min-hŭi, ed., 22-37. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 32, fig. 28
    Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, and 국외소재문화재재단. The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Edited by An Min-hŭi. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 198–203, no. 119
    McCormick, Sooa Im. "Taste of Distinction: Paintings of Scholars' Accoutrements." In The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, 국외소재문화재재단, and An Min-hŭi, ed., 304-317. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 304–317
    "Patterns and Decoration in the Joseon Dynasty." Asian Art Newspaper: Monthly for Collectors, Dealers, Museums and Galleries v.28: i.1 (November 2024). Reproduced asianartnewspaper.com
  • Pattern and Decoration in Royal Art of the Joseon Dynasty. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 9, 2024-March 16, 2025).
    Chaekgeori: Pleasure of Possessions in Korean Painted Screens. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (August 5-November 5, 2017).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 238). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 27, 2014-January 12, 2015).
  • {{cite web|title=Books and Scholars’ Accoutrements|url=false|author=Yi Taek-gyun|year=late 1800s|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2011.37