British Museum collections in Seoul

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The Korea Times

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British Museum collections in Seoul

Posted : 2016-01-24 17:05

Updated : 2016-01-24 17:05

By Choe Chong-dae

The Korea Gallery at the British Museum was first opened in 2000, and after refurbishing re-opened in 2014. The gallery is supported by the Korean government, and it puts on display very precious examples of Korean art, archaeology and culture. In addition to the British Museum's own distinguished collection of Korean pieces, there are generous loans from the British Library, the National Museum of Korea as well as from private collections. The objects on display cover all materials; especially well represented are ceramics, lacquer ware, metalwork and paintings.

Established in 1753, the British Museum in London has one of the most extensive collections in the world dedicated to human civilization, culture and history. I have visited the museum a couple of times, and also many other museums around the world. What has fascinated me most in all those displays was the enormous variety of human images. The human figure has been an essential theme of visual art throughout history. It is the primordial image, created in a boundless variety of formats and used to express fundamental ideas concerning the human condition. As the human iage was the most fundamental idea of human civilization, the human body has been depicted in the arts from different centuries, regions and cultures.

Recently, on Dec 11, 2015, I had the pleasure of attending the opening ceremony of the exhibition, "Human Image - The British Museum Collections" at the Hangaram Art Museum at the Seoul Arts Center. The exhibition runs until March 20th, 2016 and is organized by the Chosun Ilbo Daily News Paper.

The exhibition shows 176 distinctive and renowned masterpieces of figurative art. Among them are a head from a statue of Apollo, a Portrait of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, a seated figure of Isis (an Egyptian Goddess) nursing Harpocrate, (child of the God Horus); also, there is Korean artwork: the portrait of a Confucian scholar painted by Lee Jae-kwan in the 18th Century. And other types of artwork from different centuries, regions and cultures from the collection loaned by the British Museum. The visitor can enjoy the splendid diversity of ancient human figure ranging from the ideal beauty of gods and representations of the divine to more down to earth images of public figures.

I have been especially fortunate, in that I could enjoy the kind explanations of the acclaimed artworks at the exhibition by Dr. Jane Portal, Keeper of the Department of Asia and Mr. Brendan Moore, Curator at the British Museum. They highlighted an 8,000-year-old skull from the Neolithic Age, ancient artifacts from Egypt, Greece and Rome, and artworks from the 20th century.
I admired a mummy coffin, statues of Isis (Figurine of an Egyptian Goddess) and Amun-Ra (a major Egyptian deity) from Egypt including a collection of drawings and prints by Rembrandt, Durer, Matisse and Picasso, among others.

For me, elaborate pieces of sculpture, "Marble Statue of Pan" (45-25 BC) and "Marble Head of Marcus Aurelius." A portrait bust of the Roman Emperor (170-180A.D) was most impressive at the exhibition. The Marble male nude Statue of Pan, signed by M. Cossutius Cerdo, was discovered at a villa at Monte Cagnolo, near Rome, Italy. In Greek religion and mythology, Pan is the god who symbolizes fertility and male sexuality. Both these ancient works were made of the same material. But the "Marble Statue of Pan" used the sleek marble surface to show immortal, masculine beauty, while the heavily textured details of "Marcus Aurelius" adorned hair and veil express the authority and prestige of the emperor.

This outstanding exhibition of "Human Image" will provide Koreans with a unique opportunity to appreciate millennia of human civilization. It broadens our understanding of abundant world cultural history. It is very well worth visiting.

Choe Chong-dae is a guest columnist of The Korea Times. He is president of Dae-kwang International and a director of the Korean-Swedish Association. He can be reached at dkic98@chol.com.