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Lot Essay
Korea's turtle ships were the world's first iron-clad warships. Commanding a fleet of forty-three turtle ships and one-hundred-six conventional warships, Admiral Yi delivered Korea from the devastating Japanese invasions of 1592 and 1597. He has been celebrated ever since as Korea's greatest military hero.
Screen paintings of the turtle ships were displayed in the men's quarters of an upper-class house as a symbol of military valor. A turtle ship screen was also a potent talisman thought to have the power to repel evil spirits, just as Admiral Yi's fleet had repelled the Japanese armada. The armies of Japan's military dictator, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, invaded Korea in 1592. After overwhelming the city of Pusan in the south, they marched north and took Seoul, the capital, before moving on to P'yongyang, consolidating their hold on the entire peninsula. Yi Sun-shin (1545-1598) attacked the Japanese fleet with his turtle ships, cutting off its supplies and reinforcements so that the Japanese troops ashore were unable to maintain their advantage and were forced to negotiate.
Screen paintings of the turtle ships were displayed in the men's quarters of an upper-class house as a symbol of military valor. A turtle ship screen was also a potent talisman thought to have the power to repel evil spirits, just as Admiral Yi's fleet had repelled the Japanese armada. The armies of Japan's military dictator, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, invaded Korea in 1592. After overwhelming the city of Pusan in the south, they marched north and took Seoul, the capital, before moving on to P'yongyang, consolidating their hold on the entire peninsula. Yi Sun-shin (1545-1598) attacked the Japanese fleet with his turtle ships, cutting off its supplies and reinforcements so that the Japanese troops ashore were unable to maintain their advantage and were forced to negotiate.