Lee Kun-hee's 'Dragon Jar' on display at Houston Museum

The National Museum of Korea announced on Monday that the Korean Gallery on the first floor of the Caroline Wiess Law Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has been renovated and reopened. Since 2007, the Houston Museum, the largest museum in the southern United States, with over 70,000 pieces in its collection, has operated the Korean Gallery.

The newly opened Korean Gallery features 35 artifacts in 33 exhibits, including ceramics, wooden furniture, and Buddhist statues from the Joseon Dynasty, showcasing the rituals, beliefs, and daily life of the era. Notably, the gallery displays a Blue-and-White Porcelain Jar with Dragon and Cloud Design (pictured), donated by the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

The jar is adorned with dragon motifs, symbolizing the royal family and giving it a splendid appearance. Other items on display include a placenta jar used by the Joseon royal family to store the umbilical cords and placentas of newborns, as well as pure white porcelain ritual vessels. "While the previous Korean Gallery provided a general overview of Korean history from ancient times to the Joseon Dynasty, this is the first thematic exhibition offering an in-depth look into the life and culture of the Joseon era," a representative from the National Museum of Korea stated.


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