Interrogating Influence: Researching Korean collections at National Museums Scotland

Abstract

• There are almost 1000 Korean objects in the collections of National Museums Scotland (NMS), yet research into this varied collection has previously focused on the early stages of collections development and on the materiality of the objects within the collection. Current collections research at NMS is instead led by the insights provided by collections data analysis and this has raised questions of the-influence that donors and sellers have had on the collections as well as the significance of the broader contexts of collecting and collections formation. This work-in-progress paper presents some of the preliminary findings from the current Korean collections research and argues that by recentering collecting histories research on the broader contexts of collecting, this enables the museum to critically re-evaluate the version of Korea that is constructed through the museum's collection as well as shape a way forward for Korean collecting, display and research.