국립중앙박물관 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA

Highlights
Golden Chest
  • Nationality/Period

    Joseon Dynasty

  • Materials

    Silk Fabric - Silk

  • Author

    Jo Sok (趙涑, 1595-1668)

  • Category

    Culture / Art - Letter & Paintings - Paintings - painting

  • Dimensions

    105.5×56.0cm

  • Accession Number

    Deoksu 846

This painting depicts the miraculous birth of Kim Al-ji, the progenitor of the Kim family from Gyeongju that rose to become the ruling family of the Silla Kingdom. The golden chest hanging on the branch of a tree and the white rooster crowing under it illustrate the records in the History of the Three Kingdoms (三國史記, Samguk sagi). The figure in an official uniform is thought to be Hogong (瓠公) visiting Gyerim, meaning ‘rooster forest’, on the orders of King Talhae (脫解), who heard the crowing of a rooster. Inside the chest was a baby who was given the name Kim Al-ji. Later, his seventh-generation descendant King Michu (味鄒, r. 262-284) became the first king from the Kim family. The literati painter Jo Sok (趙涑, 1595‒1668) was ordered by King Injo (仁祖, r. 1623-1649) to depict this story of Kim Al-ji. The traditional style of blue-and-green landscape painting and the delicate depiction are characteristic of paintings created for kings.