Flip Sides: Seeing Korean Art Anew at The Met Fifth Avenue

 

Seated bodhisattva (left attendant of a triad)
Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
ca. mid-17th century
Korea
Gilt wood
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
2015.300.301a–c
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 
 
 

Flip Sides

Seeing Korean Art Anew

March 16, 2026 — May 31, 2027

 
 

Most objects are displayed to show their “best” angle meant to impress, sometimes hiding intriguing details. Flip Sides: Seeing Korean Art Anew invites close looking and offers multiple views of the inside, reverse, or hard-to-see aspects of objects.

Bringing together approximately 50 objects from The Met collection, with more than half displayed for the first time, this exhibition, with a rotation, shows treasured Korean traditions. By presenting them in ways that give us a fuller picture into each object’s unique form, Flip Sides provides insight into the construction and function of works in metal, wood, ceramic, textiles, and lacquer. A Buddhist sculpture that held offerings inside, a porcelain jar of striking openwork that conceals an inner chamber, a bronze mirror with a delicately incised image, and a king’s lacquer letter box with linings featuring impressive calligraphy are among the featured objects in Flip Sides.

During the exhibition, a selection of artworks will come off view and be replaced by new works:

Rotation 1: March 16–October 18, 2026
Rotation 2: October 31, 2026–May 31, 2027

The exhibition is made possible by The Kun-Hee Lee Fund for Korean Art.

 
 
 
 

Exhibition Highlights

 

Kashyapa
Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
Dated 1700
Korea
Wood with polychrome paint
Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, 1942
42.25.8
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Kashyapa
Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
Dated 1700
Korea
Wood with polychrome paint
Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, 1942
42.25.8
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bowl decorated with cranes, rain, and chrysanthemums
Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
early 14th century
Korea
Stoneware with inlaid design under celadon glaze
Gift of Samuel T. Peters, 1915
15.160.19
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tobacco box
Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
19th century
Korea
Iron inlaid with silver; brass fittings
Rogers Fund, 1922
22.78
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Talisman
Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
19th century
Korea
Stone
Rogers Fund, 1917
17.175.35
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mirror decorated with dragons, ritual bronze, and clouds
Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
Korea
Bronze
Rogers Fund, 1922
22.141.10
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Animal-shaped seal
Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
12th century
Korea
Bronze
Rogers Fund, 1917
17.175.36
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bowl with two boys and lotuses
Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
Early 12th century
Korea
Stoneware with mold-impressed design under celadon glaze
Gift of Sadajiro Yamanaka, 1911
11.8.6
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dish with inscription and decorated with chrysanthemums and rows of dots
Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
mid-15th century
Korea
Buncheong ware with stamped design
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Colman, 1893
93.1.216
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tile decorated with birds and flowers
Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
13th century
Korea
Stoneware with inlaid design under celadon glaze
Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2023
2023.320
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Seated arhat
Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
18th–19th century
Korea
Clay, wood, textile, paper, pigment
Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, 1942
42.25.7
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Seated arhat
Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
18th–19th century
Korea
Clay, wood, textile, paper, pigment
Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, 1942
42.25.7
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mirror with handle and decorated with peacock, flowers, and birds
Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
Korea
Bronze
Rogers Fund, 1917
17.175.32
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Square mirror decorated with sea creatures and clouds
Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
Korea
Bronze
Rogers Fund, 1917
17.175.24
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bowl with floral and abstract motifs and inscription
Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
Dated 1847
Korea
Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue design
Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2010
2010.174
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Filigree scent container
Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
19th century
Korea
Silver
Rogers Fund, 1922
22.141.29
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Seated bodhisattva (left attendant of a triad)
Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
ca. mid-17th century
Korea
Gilt wood
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
2015.300.301a–c
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Seated bodhisattva (left attendant of a triad)
Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
ca. mid-17th century
Korea
Gilt wood
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
2015.300.301a–c
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Square mirror decorated with palmette motifs
Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
Korea
Bronze
Rogers Fund, 1917
17.175.23
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mirror decorated with palmette and arabesque motifs
Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
first half 12th century
Korea
Bronze and silver
Rogers Fund, 1911
11.48.3
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bird-shaped vessel
Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE–676 CE)
3rd century
Korea
Earthenware
Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1997
1997.34.1
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Seal
Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
12th century
Korea
Bronze
Rogers Fund, 1917
17.175.55
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mirror decorated with lunisolar cosmology
Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
Korea
Bronze
Rogers Fund, 1917
17.175.25
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art