National Palace Museum, 'Bosodang Injonjang' Selected as 'Royal Relic' This Month
King Heonjong of Joseon, who showed exceptional passion for scholarship and the arts, collected many seals. He personally engraved phrases such as 'Ucheonhasa (友天下士·befriend scholars of the world)' and 'Yeonhyang (硯香·fragrance of the inkstone)' on seals and kept them. The book that compiles these is called 'Bosodang Injon (寶蘇堂印存欌)'.
'Bosodang Injonjang (寶蘇堂印存欌)' is a piece of furniture used to store the seals collected by King Heonjong. The National Palace Museum has designated it as the 'Curator's Recommended Royal Artifact of the Month' and is showcasing it in the permanent exhibition hall.
'Bosodang' means 'treasuring Su Shi (Su Dongpo), a poet of the Northern Song Dynasty,' and it was the hall name (dangho) that Heonjong displayed at Nakseonjae in Changdeokgung Palace. He used this name recalling the Qing Dynasty scholar Ong Bang-gang, who named his study Bosojae.
The Bosodang Injonjang, standing 120 cm tall, consists of two paired cabinets. Each is inscribed with the names Jeonjip (前集, Front Collection) and Hujip (後集, Rear Collection). When opened, there are ten drawers, five on each side. Paper labels were attached to each drawer indicating the order and quantity of the seals. An official commented, "The clear and organized arrangement, as if the book has been made three-dimensional, reveals the human side of King Heonjong."
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