July 14, 1937. Helen Keller. Buy an office desk.
- From the customer ledger of Samuel Lee, who sold antiques on Taepyeong-ro -
The 'Customer Book', which contains information on foreigners who are believed to have purchased Korean cultural assets in Korea for about 20 years from the mid-1930s during the Japanese colonial era, has been released to the world.
In particular, the name of Helen Keller, a social activist who overcame a disability, is also noticeable on the ledger list.
With the advent of customer ledgers for purchasing domestic antiques, it is expected to be of great help to future research in that it is possible to understand how our cultural assets were taken overseas and the process.
The Overseas Cultural Foundation announced on the 19th that it had donated a total of 60 items, including three materials related to Korean cultural assets, from American Robert Mathiely (97), a collector of Korean cultural assets.
The materials donated this time include a booklet of foreign customers who are believed to have bought Korean cultural assets in Korea during the Japanese colonial period, as well as leaflets for the solo exhibition of Park Soo-geun, who is called the 'National Painter'.
Among the materials donated by Mr. Mattieli, the most noteworthy is the 'transaction ledger'.
This ledger, which has been confirmed to have been recorded by Samuel Lee, who ran an antique art dealer on Taepyeong-ro across from Deoksugung Palace in Jung-gu, Seoul, records the contents of transactions for about 22 years from 1936 to 1958.
Samuel Lee, who was fluent in English, had been selling antiques in Korea, mainly to foreigners, and kept a ledger. The ledger contains the names and sales of hundreds of Western and Japanese customers who bought Korean art from him during the period of Japanese colonial rule and the Korean War. The date, address, item, etc. are written on it.
Among the customers, the name of Helen Keller (1880-1968), famous as a social activist who overcame obstacles, was also identified.
Helen Keller visited Joseon under Japanese colonial rule in July 1937 and gave lectures in Seoul and Pyongyang. The purchase of one desk) is listed in the ledger.
According to a foundation official, this ledger has been confirmed as the 'largest list of foreign buyers of Korean cultural assets' known to date.
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Another thing that stands out among the materials donated this time is the leaflet for the solo exhibition of Park Soo-geun (1914-1965), who is called the 'national painter'.
The leaflet introducing Park Soo-geun's solo exhibition held in 1962 lists 11 more works compared to previously known materials.
It is estimated that 45 oil paintings were exhibited at Park Soo-keun's solo exhibition held at the 8th US Army SAC Library, but only 33 were previously known.
Andong University professor Suh Seong-rok, who has studied Park Soo-geun's exhibition, highly evaluated the historical value, saying, "The list of 11 additional items is information necessary to restore all works exhibited in Park Soo-geun's SAC Library solo exhibition."
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Since June of this year, the foundation has been researching and examining Korean cultural assets collected by Mr. and Mrs. Matielli, and found that he has about 2,000 cultural assets.
The foundation plans to conduct research related to the 'Matielli Collection' in the future and disclose academic achievements.
An official from the foundation said, "This is another meaningful decision that connects the previous steps of donating Korean cultural assets on several occasions."
Meanwhile, Matielli is the person who returned the stolen 18th-century Buddhist painting 'Songgwangsa Temple of Five Buddhas' to Korea in 2016.
Having lived in Korea for about 30 years from 1958 to 1988, he has collected various cultural assets such as folding screens, embroidery, ceramics, and woodcrafts from Korea while working as the head of the Arts and Crafts Department of the 8th US Army Command in Korea.
Together with his wife, Sandra Matielli (96), the cultural assets he collected in Korea amounted to 1,946 pieces.
The Matielli couple have donated or donated their collections to the Portland Museum of Art, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon, and the Seattle Museum of Art.
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