고종 연간(1863~1907) 제작 어보(御寶) 연구

Abstract

The reign of King (later Emperor) Gojong of the Joseon dynasty (later the Korean Empire), which lasted from1863 to 1907, was a period of turmoil caused by political and social instability at home and military incursions byforeign powers. It was also a period in which Joseon was proclaimed as the Korean Empire and, accordingly, theroyal seals of the dynasty underwent a major change. Records show that some 135 seals were produced during the reign of Gojong. The present study of the makersand styles of the royal seals aims to reveal a wealth of information on the seals, which typically had handles in theshape of either a turtle or dragon. Among the seal makers of this era, Jeon Heung-gil was particularly highly regarded as a Golden Royal SealArtisan (Geumbojang) because he was highly skilled at making both turtle and dragon handles. Kim Eun-seok,a master Jade Royal Seal Artisan (Okbojang), also excelled in the production of turtle and dragon handles for hisjade seals. Another master Jade Royal Seal Artisan, Yi Jung-ryeo, is noteworthy because he developed a new styleof jade royal seals, which eventually became the dominant style after 1890, when Kim Eun-seok was not active. Furthermore, after the 1890s, his style was also applied to the production of the gold royal seals and developed asthe dominant style. Regarding the dragon handles adopted after the proclamation of the Korean Empire, both the golden and thejade royal seals were made in the same style by the same artisans in the service of the Joseon dynasty. They adoptedthe style of Chinese imperial seals when they began making seals with dragon handles for the Korean Empire,although the basic shapes of both handle and dragon were copied from those made during the Joseon period. As a ceremonial object symbolizing the authority and legitimacy of the royal or imperial family, the style of theroyal seals was influenced mainly by changes in the political situation at home and abroad. As Gojong’s reign was aperiod in which more royal seals were made than in the reign of any other ruler, the seals originating from his reignconstitute a richer source of information about the efforts of the dynasty to preserve the tradition while effectivelydealing with the changes of the new era.