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| ▲This photo, provided by the National Palace Museum of Korea, shows the white porcelain placenta jars and tablet for King Sukjong.” (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by the National Palace Museum of Korea, shows the white porcelain placenta jar for King Sukjong.” (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Sep. 01 (Yonhap) -- During the Joseon Dynasty, placenta and umbilical cord of the royal babies were preserved in a porcelain until to be buried underground on an auspicious day.
Dubbed “Seosan Placenta Chamber and Tablet for King Myeongjong,” treasure designated by the nation, is where the porcelain placenta jar of King Myeongjong is placed. Visitors can look down on the plain and low mountains which give the feeling that it is a good spot.
The Japanese Empire dug up 54 Joseon placenta chambers and transferred the porcelains to Seosamneung, Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province. National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage recovered the placenta jars in 1996 through an excavation investigation on the tomb site. The excavated relics are preserved in the National Palace Museum of Korea.
The “Set of White Porcelain Placenta Jars and Tablet for King Sukjong,” selected as the Curator’s Choice of September, includes two jars and an inscription of a brief explanation on a tablet.
The shoulder parts of the jars have loops with holes in the middle and the lids’ handles are punctuated as well to allow strings to bind the jars. The outer jar is 31.2cm high and the inner one is 17.3 cm high.
The inscriptions on the tablet are Chinese characters indicating the birth of the baby prince Sukjong, 1661, August 15th, around 5~7 a.m.
“The placenta jars of the royal Joseon families are craft carrying wishes of peaceful growth and life for the newborn. Visitors can see placenta jars of King Sukjong who had opened up the revival of the Joseon Kingdom in the exhibition halls of royal rituals of the Joseon Dynasty,” said an official from the museum.
They will also release contents about the placenta jars for King Sukjong through their YouTube Channel.
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