Goryeo Shipwreck’s Celadon on Display
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
In May 2007, a fisherman caught a bay octopus tightly grabbing a celadon dish in his fish trap. The discovery near Taean's Daeseom Island in South Chungcheong Province led to a historic excavation of valuable underwater heritage carried out by the National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage in 2007 and 2008.
The excavation uncovered a cargo boat carrying several thousand celadon articles, wooden tags inscribed with information about the articles, general goods used by the seamen, and a skeleton of a Goryeo man who was trapped under his cargo during the wreck. The items had been submerged for about 900 years.
The institute, along with the Administration of Gangjin County, is holding a special exhibition titled ``Goryeo Celadon Shipwreck'' at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Gyeonggbok Palace, Seoul. The exhibition is part of the institute's efforts to seek restoration of the sea routes used by Goryeo cargo boats carrying celadon works.
A total of 740 pieces of the relics found are on display, including other ceramics found in Gangjin, South Jeolla Province.
The exhibition depicts the journey of the artworks from Tamjin (now Gangjin) to Gaegyeong (now Gaeseong, North Korea, the capital city of Goryeo) based on research of the wooden tags, which hold the transportation records of the pieces.
The first section, ``Taean Sea,'' displays celadon dishes, the wooden tags, celadon incense burners with various patterns and shapes, kettles, bowls and other underwater relics recovered from the excavation.
The wreck was discovered on a 12-meter-deep seabed. Sadly, it had lost much of its body except for a part of the outer hull, 8 meters in length and 1.5 meters in width.
The wooden tabs are highly regarded among historians as they represent the first discovery of the articles used by Goryeo people.
The second section, ``Gangjin Kilns,'' documents how celadon articles were made in Tamjin kilns. Visitors can compare the relics excavated from the kilns to those found underwater and in tombs.
The works of the Tamjin potters contain various incised inscriptions and symbolic marks. Most of the inscriptions are related to Chinese imperial-reign titles, the names of royal tombs, or list year names related to the Chinese sexagenarian cycle. The inscriptions are of crucial importance in defining the characteristics of each work and determining the year in which they were made.
The third section offers a hands-on environment where visitors can try on writing on a wooden strip and drawing a pattern on celadon.
The exhibition will run through Sept. 6 at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Gyeongbok Palace.