Excerpts from The Art of the Korean Potter - Silla, Koryŏ, Yi, exhibition catalogue published by Asia House Gallery to accompany the 1968 exhibit of the same name.

The Art of the Korean Potter - Silla, Koryŏ, Yi ran as follows:

Asia House Gallery (now known as Asia Society Museum), New York City: April 18 - June 2, 1968

Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto: July 16 - August 30, 1968

The Art Institute of Chicago: October 5 - November 17, 1968

The exhibition was selected by Robert J. Griffing Jr, then curatorial consultant to the Honolulu Academy of Arts. The objects displayed were drawn exclusively from American collections, and were originally imagined to be part of a greater exhibition of Korean arts at Asia Society. Further exploration into the arts of Korean potters led Dr. Griffing to suggest a standalone exhibit. His introduction to the catalogue was the time an important new study that argued for Korean ceramics to be recognised in its own right, outside of its relationship with the arts of China.

You can read Dr. Griffing’s introduction, and download the full exhibition catalogue as a PDF via Art Institute Chicago’s website.

The Art of the Korean Potter - Silla, Koryŏ, Yi was commissioned by Asia Society as part of three exhibits that year at their headquarters in Asia House, and made possible by a grant from Old Dominion Foundation. It was preceded by Chinese Treasures of the Avery Brundage Collection, and followed by Ritual Vessels of Bronze Age China, Series 32. A full history of the exhibitions at Asia House in New York, held from January 1960 - May 1975, can be found on the Rockefeller Archive Center website.

Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit global organisation dedicated to understanding Asia and its role in the world. Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, it has cultural centres and public buildings in New York, Hong Kong and Houston, with additional locations across America, Europe and Asia. A short film about the history of Asia Society can be viewed here.

Images below are captioned, where appropriate, with provenance at the time, and photographer credit where available. Pavilion thanks Asia Society for their kind permission to reprint the materials included in this piece.