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Goryeo Dynasty: Korea's Age of Enlightenment, 918-1392. By KUMJA PAIK KIM. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum-Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture in cooperation with the National Museum of Korea and the Nara National Museum, 2003. 319 pp. $45.00 (paper).
This book is the catalog of the exhibition Goryeo Dynasty: Korea's Age of Enlightenment, 918-1392, presented at the Asian Art Museum-Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture at San Francisco in cooperation with the National Museum of Korea and the Nara National Museum. The exhibition was held from October 18, 2003, to January 11, 2004. It was the first special exhibition at the remodeled former Main Library, the new home of the Asian Art Museum. The goal of the exhibition, as stated in the preface by the director, Emily Sano, was to introduce the American public to the remarkable art of the Goryeo (Koryo) dynasty (918-1392), which was patronized by royalty, aristocracy, and the Buddhist elite. Sano states, "now at last Korea's achievements can be properly assessed against more familiar works, produced at the same time, in China and Japan" (p. 9). Such affirmation of the Koreans' own distinct culture within the context of East Asia resonates throughout the book and is reflected in the essays and discussions of individual objects.
The book is organized by the type of object displayed: painting, illuminated sutras, sculpture, lacquer and metal work, and ceramics. Each section is prefaced with an essay by a leading scholar illuminating key aspects of the associated artistic genre. All of the 113 objects displayed in the exhibition are depicted in superb full-page reproductions, accompanied by catalog entries conveniently placed on opposing pages.
The work opens with an...