정조正祖, 1776~1800대 어보御寶 제작 장인의 변화와 특징

Abstract

Records show that a number of royal seals were created in late Joseon when the dynasty was under the reign of King Jeongjo from 1776 to 1800 and used for a variety of state or royal occasions such as the investiture of the queen and crown prince, ceremonies for honoring royals with honorary titles, state funerals, and the enshrinement of the royal ancestors’ spirit tablets. Each royal seal was regarded as representing the authority of its owner, or user, therefore, seal makers were required to spend all their artistic capacity to create a flawless product. The task of golden royal seal production during the reign of King Jeongjo was undertaken by the artisans of the Pyo family, Pyo Deok-un, Pyo Si-jae and Pyo Seong-chae in particular. Considering that all these artisans belonged to the same government agency, the Military Training Command (Hullyeondogam), it is highly possible that the profession of making golden royal seals was inherited through a particular family. The golden royal seals made by Pyo Deok-un were, unlike jade seals, not very different in design and other details from the seals made by his predecessors. The golden royal seal makers under the reign of King Jeongjo maintained the tradition of their profession while the jade seal engravers did not. In the earlier period, during the reigns of King Sukjong (r. 1674-1720) and King Yeongjo (r. 1724-1776), for example, the projects of jade seal production typically involved the participation of other government officials. After their participation became suspended during King Jeongjo’s reign for an unknown reason, it seems that their role was conducted by a jade seal engraver named Won Myeong-jang. It is notable that the title given to the seal engravers was also changed during the reign of King Jeongjo. The earlier title, Jang (i.e. “artisan”), was now replaced by Gaksu (i.e. “master engraver”) and, accordingly, the title of the golden seal engraver Pyo Deok-un was changed from Geumbo-jang to Geumbo-gaksu while Won Myeong-jang's earlier title was also changed to Ok-gaksu or Okbo-gaksu as recorded in the Royal Protocols (Uigwe) published at the time. The changed title continued to be used until the reign of King Gojong (r. 1863-1897, and 1897-1907), suggesting that the function and status of the court artisans of Joseon were established during the reign of King Jeongjo.