Ahn Junggeun’s Last Prison Calligraphy
Returns Home After 113 Years
Sold at Record Price, Far Exceeding Estimates
The final calligraphy written by independence activist Ahn Junggeun (1879-1910) before his execution has been auctioned at a record-breaking price and returned to his homeland after 113 years.
According to Seoul Auction on December 20, Ahn’s last ink manuscript, titled "Yonghojiungse Gijakinmyojitae" (龍虎之雄勢 豈作蚓猫之態), which he wrote while imprisoned, was sold for 1.95 billion KRW at the 176th Seoul Auction art auction held at the Gangnam Center the previous day.
An Junggeun's handwritten manuscript sold for 1.95 billion won at Seoul Auction art auction [Photo by Seoul Auction]
The calligraphy, which reads "How can the majestic presence of a dragon and tiger be compared to the form of an earthworm or a cat?" (龍虎之雄勢 豈作蚓猫之態), is believed to have been written by Ahn in March 1910 at the Lushun Prison in China, shortly before his execution. The manuscript is written in ink.
Alongside the inscription, "Written in March of the Gyeongsul year at Lushun Prison by Ahn Junggeun, a Korean," Ahn’s distinctive palm seal-missing the joint of his left ring finger-is stamped. Ahn had cut off his own left ring finger as a pledge of patriotism.
The auction for the manuscript began at 400 million KRW, quickly surpassing its estimated value of 500 million to 1 billion KRW and setting a new record for the highest price among Ahn’s surviving calligraphies. The previous record was 750 million KRW in 2018 for "Seungpibaegunjiujaehyangui" (I will call the white clouds and ride them to the heavens).
This manuscript had been in the possession of a Japanese individual, but it was reported that a private collector in Korea won the bid at this auction. With this sale, Ahn’s manuscript, which had remained outside the country for 113 years, has finally returned to Korea. The export of Ahn’s calligraphies is prohibited without approval from the Cultural Heritage Administration.
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