JAPANESE AND KOREAN ART 23 march 2022

796
ANONYMOUS
Geobukseon (Turtle ships) and Panokseon
(Armored war ships)
Joseon dynasty (1392-1897), 17th/18th century
A set of six paintings in ink and colors on paper,
mounted as hanging scrolls, depicting war
ships in formation, each flying standards and
accompanied by smaller boats carrying soldiers
26 1/4 x 13 3/8in (66.6 x 34cm) each
$15,000 - 25,000
These dynamic paintings were probably once part
of a larger group mounted on an 8-panel screen.
The gathering of war ships may be a depiction
of a naval battle from the Imjin war (1592-1598),
during Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s invasions of
Korea. The final battle took place on the Strait
of Noryang, off the coast of Namhae Island,
where the Japanese navy was routed by a much
smaller force led by Admral Yi Sun-shin (1545-
1598). Japanese losses were estimated to have
been as high as two thirds of their fleet and half
of their soldiers.
While no records confirm the use of the
geobukseon, it is believed that they had a
major impact on the outcome of the war. The
exact origins of the geobukseon are hazy, but
scholars believe the heavily armored vessels
were developed out of the need for protection
against superior Japanese firepower, namely
arquebuses and cannons adapted from
Portuguese prototypes. The geobukseon were
built with low, rounded iron-plated roofs covered
in spikes, making them difficult to board. During
battle the sails could be retracted and twenty
sets of oars would propel the vessel. The
bow was equipped with a turtle head-shaped
battering ram through which smoke could be
projected to intimidate the enemy and provide
visual cover. Aptly named, the vessels resembled
large turtles.
Until the 19th century, screens featuring
armadas of war ships, in particular geobukseon,
were fashionable among Korea’s military elite.
FINE JAPANESE AND KOREAN ART | 153