id: 160806 accession number: 1999.120.1 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1999.120.1 updated: 2022-03-17 09:00:17.214000 Spirit House, late 1800s. Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392-1910). Iron inlaid with silver and copper decoration; overall: 30 x 35 x 14 cm (11 13/16 x 13 3/4 x 5 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll and Roberta Carroll, M.D. in memory of Robert P. Bergman 1999.120.1 title: Spirit House title in original language: 철제 은입사 감실 (鐵製銀入絲龕室) series: series in original language: creation date: late 1800s creation date earliest: 1850 creation date latest: 1899 current location: creditline: Gift of The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll and Roberta Carroll, M.D. in memory of Robert P. Bergman copyright: --- culture: Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392-1910) technique: iron inlaid with silver and copper decoration department: Korean Art collection: Korean Art type: Metalwork find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 30 x 35 x 14 cm (11 13/16 x 13 3/4 x 5 1/2 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: The belief in two types of souls, the spiritual and the corporeal, embodied the core concept of ancestor worship in traditional China and Korea. While the corporeal soul is believed to reside in the tomb, the spiritual soul, in the spirit house, like this example, guards his or her decedents. digital description: Many homes in premodern Korean society had a memorial shrine for preparing and holding ancestral rites. Placed on the top of a tall chair, this miniature edifice (called the spirit house) served as a temporary residence for visiting ancestral spirits. On the table, a variety of delicacies such as fruits, rice, meat, and wine would be placed to treat those spiritual guests. wall description: --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Deuchler, Martina. “Mourning and Funerary Rites.” In The Confucian Transformation of Korea (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press), 1992. page number: url: Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2014. page number: url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1999.120.1/1999.120.1_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1999.120.1/1999.120.1_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1999.120.1/1999.120.1_full.tif