Mokgung

It is with a feeling of regret that I am putting up for sale the mokgung (목궁/木弓) made by the past master Korean bowyer, Geuk-hwan Park.  He crafted it back in the late 90s, after extensive research of the original, which is in the museum at Seoul National University.  The original dates from the mid-Joseon dynasty (Joseon was from 1392-1910).  The bow was featured in the national handcraft exhibition back in, I believe, 2000 (I have the book somewhere, but I can't presently find it). 

Master Park made two of these bows; one is now in private hands in England.  This one is his original bow, which was in the national exhibition.  As many here know, Master Park--who was the bowyer in my video, The Way of the Bow: The Korean Horn Bow--was paralyzed by a brain aneurism back in 2002, so his work is now especially rare and precious.

The bow, whose name literally means "wood bow", is actually made of wood and bamboo.  The core and belly are bamboo, while the siyahs are mulberry (made from wood from a bow saw that was over fifty years old at the time).  It is ~87cm along the back, nock-to-nock (~94cm tip-to-tip).  The draw weight is unknown, as it has never been drawn (It was, however, braced after it was first made), but the bowyer estimated it at about 100#.

Page about this bow: http://hornbow.com/mokgoong.html

Pictures I just took:

I am asking $1,500 for it.