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Source 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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
160806
label
Spirit House
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
160806
contentType
object
title
Spirit House
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.
date
late 1800s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79982617
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 30 x 35 x 14 cm (11 13/16 x 13 3/4 x 5 1/2 in.)
cul
Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
accession
1999.120.1
Source extras
tec
iron inlaid with silver and copper decoration
tombstone
Spirit House (철제 은입사 감실 [鐵製銀入絲龕室]), 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
titleInOriginalLanguage
철제 은입사 감실 [鐵製銀入絲龕室]
collection
Korean Art
didYouKnow
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.
citations
citation
Deuchler, Martina. “Mourning and Funerary Rites.” In <em>The Confucian Transformation of Korea</em> (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press), 1992.
citation
<em>Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910</em>. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2014.
creditline
Gift of The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll and Roberta Carroll, M.D. in memory of Robert P. Bergman
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:21:28.946000
sourceId
160806
dept
Korean Art
coll
Korean Art
med
iron inlaid with silver and copper decoration
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
46f468014dadaa7c