This exhibition presents ceramics from Korea’s Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE–676 CE), a formative era marked by technological innovation and distinct regional styles. High‑fired gray stoneware, developed in the 3rd century CE, transformed ceramic production and furnished elite tombs with vessels used for ritual and daily life. Many of these objects entered global collections through excavations conducted during Japan’s colonial rule of Korea (1910–1945), a period that displaced cultural heritage and shaped collecting practices. The Ludlow family’s gifts to the Allen Memorial Art Museum, including 27 early Korean ceramic works, reflect these complex histories, inviting viewers to consider both the artistic achievement of Korean ceramicists and the ethics of colonial-era archaeology’s legacy.

Images:

Unrecorded Korean Artist. Covered Chalice Food Dish with Apertures in Base, ca. 5th–6th century. Gift of Lillian S. Ludlow, 1920.26A-B.

Unrecorded Korean Artist. Jar with Long Neck, ca. 5th–6th century. Gift of Lillian S. Ludlow, 1920.44.