Presenter:

Bryan Sauvadet (PhD candidate at the Université Paris Cité, Research Center for China, Korea and Japan, Paris, France)

Abstract: 

Since 1891, after the transfer of Charles Varat’s collection, the Musée Guimet conserves and presents one of the most important collections of Korean art pieces in the continent. In 1893, the first Korean gallery was opened in the museum. Later, different donations were received by the museum. The development of the Korean collections in the Musée Guimet agrees with the French Korean diplomacy history and the interest of French people in Korea. This lecture will shortly present the history of this unique collection in relation with the history of French Korean diplomacy. Then, it will focus on the analyze of some Buddhist masterpieces from the Korean collections in the Musée Guimet and how those art pieces can be mobilized in Korean Buddhist art history research.