ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the ways in which nationalist, political and cultural agendas shaped interest in Korea and its cultural heritage between the 1850s and 1880s. Focus is placed on the writings of European and American scholars, whose works played a pivotal role in directing collectors’ interests toward specific types of Korean artefacts while diverting attention from others. Japan served as the gateway to East Asia for many Westerners, and consequently, Japanese perspectives on Korea profoundly shaped initial perceptions of the country. Most scholars relied on the Japanese historical texts where they found frequent references to Korea, including mention of the transmission of artistic skills and practices from the peninsula to Japan. They argued that the manufacture of Buddhist art, among other art forms, once flourished on the peninsula, only to be followed by decline. In contrast, they discovered that Korean ceramics had been admired in Japan for centuries. This knowledge played a crucial role in shaping the Korean art market during this period and over the following decades.
