Kings of the Joseon Dynasty - Main Artifacts

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  JoseonRoyal Throne

  The throne was placed at the center of the main hall of the palace. The king was seated in his throne during state affairs and in audiences with his subjects. The throne depicted in the portrait of King Taejo(r.1392~1398), the founder of the Dynasty, has an almost identical design, evidencing that this design continued to be made over the course of the Joseon Dynasty. A screen of the sun, moon, and five peaks was placed behind the throne to evoke a sense of divinity and majesty.

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  JoseonSix-Fold Screen of the Sun, Moon, and Five Peaks

  Screens as the backdrop of the masters' seats in their rooms traditionally signified their authority or implied their own tastes. A screen of the sun, moon and five peaks was a symbolic image of the universe which always backed the throne of the Joseon king. The components of the painting are natural, long-living things, used as metaphors of the royal benevolence in a poem ‘Tianbao’from Shijing (Book of Odes). The flat decorative depiction of the subjects in bright colors, and a panoramic symmetry, suitably present the divinity of the regime as the perpetual nexus between the earthly and heavenly realms.

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  Joseon, 1683Gold Seal of King Taejo

  This seal which belong to King Taejo(r. 1392~1398) was inscribed when he was bestowed an additional posthumous title “Jeongui Gwangdeok ([your] Righteousness and Luminous Benevolence).”

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  Joseon, 1613Royal Proclamation to the Honorable and Loyal Subject Yi Seongyun

  King Gwanghaegun (r. 1608~1623) granted this gyoseo to Yi Seongyun (1570~1620), for his resistance to the 1592 Japanese Invasions. Usually decorated with patternless blue and yellow silk, the pronouncements bestowed upon the king's subjects were simple and neat, in contrast to the lavishly decorated investiture documents of the royal family gyomyeong.

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  Joseon, 1681Genealogy of the Royal Family

  The Genealogy of the Royal Family, or Seonwon-Rok, records information on the royal clans under governm -ent administration. The early royal genealogies used to extensively list the names of King Taejo’s progenit -or and half-brothers. King Taejong (r.1400~1418), who was apprehensive of the futureconflict over the throne, split the genealogy in three separate types: Seonwon-Rok limited the royal lineage up to King Taejong’s direct family from the progenitor, Jongchin -Rok redefined rightful inheritors of the throne up to King Taejo and his legitimate sons, while Yubu-Rok listed the rest of the members of the royal clan. King Taejong set up the foundation of a stable dynastic regime by completely excluding King Taejo’s half- brothers from the succession of the throne and by narrowing down the legitimate competitors to the throne.

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  Joseon, 1909Exemplary Accomplishments of the Monarch

  Exemplary Accomplishments of the Monarch record the exemplary accomplishments and deeds of former kings that were worth emulating, and was considered to be an important record of Joseon Kings.

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  JoseonBronze Dragon to Guard against Fire from Gyeonhoeru pond

  A bronze dragon was discovered in the bottom of the pond below Gyeonghoeru Pavilion when it was drained for cleaning in November, 1997. Gyeonghoe Pavilion was a special venue at the court where great banquets were held to receive foreign envoys. The pavilion had burnt down during the Japanese Invasion in 1592, and was rebuilt in 1867, the 4th year of the reign of Emperor Gojong. According to a record on Gyeonghoe Pavilion, its architectural design adopted the principle of the Yijing (Book of Changes) to provide protection from fire. For the same purpose, two bronze dragons were buried in the northern bed of the pond.