National heritage recognition sought for forgotten cabinet gifted by King Gojong

Sitting in the headquarters of the Hulbert Memorial Society in Seoul, an antique cabinet once belonging to Homer B. Hulbert (1863-1949), decorated with shimmering mother-of-pearl inlay, is no ordinary piece of furniture. Standing at more than 170 centimeters tall, the cabinet is adorned with delicate motifs of flowers, trees, grasses and animals rendered with a level of craftsmanship rarely seen in furniture made for common use.

The cabinet was a gift from King Gojong, the last king of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), to Hulbert, American missionary and educator who served in Korea for more than 20 years during one of the nation’s most turbulent eras. Although the exact timing and circumstances of the presentation remain unclear — likely sometime in the late 19th century — the gift symbolizes the close relationship between the monarch and the foreign scholar.

Arriving in Korea in 1886, Hulbert taught the children of the Joseon Dynasty’s royal family and other aristocrats. He also authored “Saminpilji,” a textbook written in Hangeul (Korean alphabet) for his students, and published journals and periodicals about Korea in English.

A close confidant to King Gojong, Hulbert worked to defend the country from Japanese influence, including attempting to deliver a letter from the king to then-U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt in support of efforts towards Korea’s independence. Hulbert was posthumously honored for his role in the foundation of the modern Korean state.

Hulbert appears to have cherished the piece as a token of his service to Korea, yet its journey was far from straightforward. It traveled across continents and through museums before finally returning to the country where it was crafted. The question now is not only how it found its way back, but also what awaits this royal masterpiece.

Cabinet’s transnational journey

According to Kim Samdaeja, an expert on antique Korean furniture and a former cultural heritage committee member, the cabinet is believed to be made in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, in the late 19th century.

“Tongyeong was a center for mother-of-pearl lacquerware and artisans there specialized in this craft,” Kim said.

She even identified the likely artisan behind the cabinet: Eom Seong-bong, known as the finest mother-of-pearl artisan at the time and grandfather of Eom Deok-mun, the architect who designed the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Seoul. She added that King Gojong often commissioned the best artisans in the country to produce high-quality gifts for foreign dignitaries.

According to Kim, only two other similar cabinets survive to this today: one at the Appenzeller/Noble Memorial Museum under Pai Chai University, donated by descendants of American missionary Henry Appenzeller in 2022, and another at the State Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow, believed to have been acquired through a private collector in Manchuria.

The cabinet once owned by Appenzeller was designated as a National Folklore Cultural Heritage on Sept. 25, recognized as a unique artifact that reflects the relationship between the Korean royal court and Western missionaries in the late Joseon dynasty. Experts noted that three-tiered mother-of-pearl cabinets of this size and craftsmanship from the period are extremely rare.

A handwritten note written by Homer’s grandson and Kimball’s father, Richard, was left with the cabinet.

It reads, “Sent from Korea to China as tribute. Returned to Korean king. To HBH.” The exact dates — both when the cabinet was sent to China and when it was given to Hulbert — remain unclear.

It also states, “Long time in Victoria & Albert Museum.” In fact, the cabinet spent more than five years at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London.

“In early 1899, Hulbert sent a mother-of-pearl inlaid Korean cabinet and an embroidered Chinese screen from America to the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) for inspection,” Rosalie Kim, the V&A’s Korean collection curator, confirmed via email.

Hulbert hoped the museum would purchase the cabinet, describing it as a fine example of Korean art, but when it declined due to damage caused during transfer, he offered it on loan. By July 1899, the piece was on display in the museum’s Oriental section.

Kim Dong-jin, chairperson of the Homer Hulbert Memorial Society, offered some context.

“In 1898, Hulbert was told to vacate his house by the authorities, as the Korean Empire was preparing for a visit by Prince Heinrich of Prussia. Hulbert returned to the U.S. with his family, and I believe he had taken the cabinet with him before shipping it to London.”

According to the V&A, the cabinet remained on display until early 1906.

“In a letter dated March 2, 1906, Hulbert, writing from Andover, Massachusetts, authorized the transfer of both objects to an agent of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York. The objects were dispatched on April 5, 1906, and recorded by the museum as ‘returned.’”

However, the AMNH has no record of the cabinet entering its collection.

“Homer Hulbert did provide us with an assortment of movable metal type, some of which is currently on exhibit in our Hall of Asian Peoples, but no large pieces of furniture,” Laurel Kendall, anthropology curator at AMNH, told The Korea Times.

Carrie Beauchamp, collections manager in the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) — part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and often confused with the similarly named AMNH — also confirmed that while NMNH does hold Korean artifacts linked to Hulbert, there is no record of the cabinet in question.

“(I) don’t see any record of a Korean cabinet coming into the collection in 1906 or from Hulbert at any time,” Beauchamp said.

The NMNH acquired objects from Hulbert in 1893, 1899 and 1901, including a wide array of Korean items such as fans, clothing, footwear, pottery, armor and even a rickshaw, but no furniture.

“Museum records can be incomplete, especially for things that were on loan, and not permanently added to the collection,” she added, leaving open the possibility that it was displayed but never formally acquired.

Family heirloom looks for new home

Eventually, the cabinet returned to the Hulbert household, though the details of how and when remain uncertain. It was passed down through generations, with the last known owner being his great-grandson Kimball.

Kimball remembers the cabinet as a familiar fixture of his childhood home in Rye, New York.

“It was a centerpiece in a large room that doubled as our living room and everyday dining room, so for the better part of my childhood, we sat next to it almost every evening having dinner as a family … I didn’t know much about it aside from the fact that it was old and fragile and beautiful … My mother moved a couple of times and always brought the chest with her to her new home. Recently, she moved out of her home into senior living and it fell to me to clear out her house.”

Unable to accommodate the cabinet in his apartment, Kimball made the decision to donate the heirloom to the Hulbert Memorial Society in 2024.

“I would have loved to hold onto this beautiful piece of family history. But I live in New York City and space would not allow it,” Kimball said. “I have known Kim Dong-jin and I am extremely impressed with and grateful for the work he is doing to promote my great-grandfather’s legacy in Korea and I could think of no better person to own and care for the furniture.”

The cabinet is now housed at the society’s headquarters in Seoul. However, Kim acknowledges that while it’s in safe hands, the piece requires professional conservation.

“The current location isn’t bad, but it’s not suitable for such a delicate antique,” he said.

Kim hopes the cabinet will one day receive official recognition similar to the recent national heritage designation awarded to Appenzeller’s furniture. Yet, he remains firm on one point: the cabinet should stay under the society’s care.

“My goal is to open a Hulbert Museum someday and I want this cabinet to be part of its permanent collection,” he said. “Until then, I’m open to lending it, but I’m not giving it away.”