Donor: Mrs Sheila E Hoey Middleton

Production place: Korea

Date range: Joseon Period 1392-1897 CE

Size of collection: circa 2,000 sherds

This collection was owned by Sheila E Hoey Middleton, widow of Lawrence Middleton CMG, British Ambassador to South Korea from 1986 to 1990 and later Chairman of the Anglo-Korean Society from 1995-2002. Mrs Middleton also donated pieces from her collection to the V&A and Ashmolean museums. 

The majority of the material donated to the Oriental Museum in 2024 is from the excavation of the British Embassy site which stands on the east side of the Deoksugung Palace in Jeong-dong, in the historic part of Seoul. 

This material has been catalogued by a group of dedicated volunteers over an 18 month period, creating a new research resource.