ABSTRACT
In the first decade of the twentieth century, an increasing number of Westerners worked in Seoul and elsewhere on the peninsula, and even tourists began to arrive from America and Europe. Writings on Korea increased in number, as did the interest in ceramics from the Koryŏ dynasty. American collectors played a particularly active role in the Korean art market, frequently competing against Japanese collectors. Among them were Charles Lang Freer, Samuel T. Peters, and Frank Gair Macomber. Freer is particularly interesting as one of the first Americans to take a strong interest in Korean ceramics. By the time of his death in 1919, few collections of Korean art matched his in terms of numbers and quality. Freer’s acquisition practices mirror broader trends in the Korean art market. Whereas his first Korean purchases of the 1890s were tea bowls, favoured by Japanese tea drinkers, he later turned to Koryŏ ceramics, and they became the mainstay of his Korean collection. Especially important is his purchase of around 80 Koryŏ ceramics from Horace Newton Allen in 1907.
