한국 근대의 고미술품 수장가 : 치과의사 함석태

Abstract

Many figures in Seoul and the provinces can be pointed out as Korean antique art collectors of the Japanese colonial period. The outline of these major collectors gradually became expose dafter the 1930s. One of the representative Korean collectors in 1940, Ham Seok-Tae was the first figure on record who studied dentistry in Korea. The first Korean dentist, Ham Seok-Tae, interacted with the major antique art collectors and literary men of the period. In addition to holding the honorable record as the first Korean dentist, Ham Seok-Tae owned many rare ceramics and craft work, so much so that he was known as the "Great King of Genuine Small Items of Art." In accordance with the evacuation order of the Japanese Empire in 1944, near the end of the Japanese colonial period, Ham Seok-Tae took all his collection pieces by car to his home village in Pyeong-an-buk-do (North Pyeong-an Province) and it was there that he welcomed Korea’s liberation from Japan. But Ham Seok-Tae failed to return south and thereafter nothing about him is known. It is conjectured that perhaps he tried to bring his family and antique art by ship from Haeju in Hwanghae-dobut failed. Of the works currently passed down, there are only 15 ceramics and 4 paintings confirmed to be from Ham Seok-Tae’s collection. Passing through the turbulence of modern period, many collections of Korea’s major art collectors have disappeared and their whereabouts are still not known. Ham Seok-Tae’s collection likewise met a tragic end. Among the collection of Ham Seok-Tae currently passed down, there are masterpieces that have been designated as national treasure of North Korea. Through these works, Ham’s outstanding eye for discernment and beauty can be felt and especially his disposition for being captivated by small, rare-shaped antique art can be confirmed. Indeed, Ham Seok-Tae can be considered one of the exemplary collectors of modern Korea who possess extraordinarily discerning eye and passion for collecting. The social intercourse of various antique art collectors as well as leading men of letters who associated with Ham Seok-Tae and the approach of these literary circle figures to antique art appreciation and trend are topics for subsequent study, as a work that makes one aspect of the 1930s literary world understandable.