ABSTRACT
The opening of Korea’s ports to Japan and Western powers in the 1870s and 1880s played a crucial role in the development of the modern Korean art market. Since the 1870s, leading collectors in Europe and America had acquired ceramics which they believed were Korean. However, they found it challenging to confirm whether the vessels were indeed made by Korean potters, given the dearth of reliable information about Korea and its artistic traditions. The solution to this problem came with direct access to the peninsula, which enabled first hand exploration of Korean heritage. This coincided with discoveries of ceramics from tombs of the Koryŏ dynasty (918–1392). The vessels were markedly different from other Korean ceramics sold on the art market, leading to a new direction in Korean ceramic collecting. With the increased demand for Koryŏ ceramics, hundreds of tombs on the peninsula were looted, and most, if not all, grave goods were sold to buyers of Japanese, American, and European descent. American and British collectors commonly ascribed the plundering of these grave sites to instability, conflict, and war on the Korean peninsula, thereby absolving themselves of any culpability and responsibility.
