Ten-panel folding screen to be restored in Korea

A set of 19th century paintings depicting the Chilbosan (Seven Jeweled Mountain) mountain range in northeastern Korea now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art has returned to Korea for a comprehensive conservation and remounting treatment.

Chilbosan was famed for its distinctive natural features — high craggy peaks, deep valleys, waterfalls, unique rock formations — which attracted tourists going back to the 16th century. These paintings were made by an unknown artist in fine-line brushstrokes and washes of ink on cotton canvas. They are meticulously realistic, identifying 40 sites in the mountain range by name.

When it was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2020, the set was in ten separate scrolls, but it was originally a ten-panel folding screen. The Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation with the support of the Samsung Foundation of Culture intend to restore the work to its original format. The panels have been transferred to the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, which is renowned for its collection of traditional Korean art.

Chilbosan (Seven Jeweled Mountain), 19th century, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910), Korea. Set of 10 paintings previously in folding screen format; ink on cotton. Image (each): 47 5/8 × 11 1/8 in. (121 × 28.3 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2020, 2020.118a-j

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