A Study of the Five Peaks Screens in Relation to Imperial Portrait Production during the Korean Empire Period

This study examines the production and use of the Five Peaks Screens (obongbyŏng) in relation to imperial portrait (ŏjin) making between 1900 and 1902, when Emperor Kojong actively pursued the reinforcement of imperial authority. Drawing on records from the ŭigwe (royal protocols) concerning portrait production, the research analyzes the types and functions of the Five Peaks Screens according to their placement in the portrait-making procedures and further investigates their mounting styles. By comparing these textual accounts with extant artifacts, the study identifies the screens presumed to have been produced at the time and explores their stylistic features.During this period, various types of Five Peaks Screens were employed, including single-panel screens with wooden frames (sappyŏng), folding screens (ch'ŏppyŏng), and three-sided partition panels (sammyŏn changja). The sappyŏng represented a newly emerging type that, like the portrait hanging equipment (kwaebonggi) used in portrait production, incorporated special devices capable of unfurling portraits from the top. Combining the sun, moon, and five peaks imagery with silk mounting, the sappyŏng functioned not only as a ceremonial object embodying dignity and authority, but also as a practical tool for enshrining and displaying the imperial portrait. Its functions extended from official viewing ceremonies to temporary enshrinement and the inspection of underdrawings. By contrast, ch'ŏppyŏng screens of four-, six-, or eight-panel formats were installed exclusively for temporary enshrinement. Their mounting practices shifted from the traditional use of narrow green silk strips at the edges to the use of purple silk strips and the addition of wide blue silk along the upper or lower borders. The three-sided Five Peaks Screens, used in the imperial portrait hall (Sŏnwŏnjŏn), consistently maintained their established mounting style.Through comparative analysis, the study argues that the three single-panel Five Peaks Screens in the National Palace Museum of Korea and the four-panel Five Peaks Screen in the Tokyo National Museum were produced for the 1901 copying of the seven imperial portraits and were installed respectively in Hŭngdŏkchŏn (for the portrait copying process) and in Chunghwajŏn (for temporary enshrinement). Meanwhile, the three-sided Five Peaks Screen in the first chamber of the New Sŏnwŏnjŏn was initially produced for the 1900 reconstruction of the Sŏnwŏnjŏn in Kyŏngbokkung and was later moved to the newly rebuilt Sŏnwŏnjŏn in Kyŏng’ungung (present-day Tŏksugung) in 1901. These screens share stylistic traits such as triangular-looking peaks with strait ridges, distinct height contrasts between the central and side peaks, and diagonal wave patterns arranged in succession. In particular, the Tokyo National Museum screen appears to simplify the three-sided Five Peaks Screen of the New Sŏnwŏnjŏn’s first chamber. The lowered rendering of the four flanking peaks, inclined toward the central peak, is interpreted as a symbolic visualization of Confucian monarch–subject relations, and as reflecting the ideological climate of strengthening autocratic imperial power during the Korean Empire period.