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Stunning Black Lacquer Mother of Pearl Box w/ Signature
Catalogue:
Antiques:
Regional Art:
Asian:
Korean:
Furniture:
Pre 1900 item# 1116743 (stock# 0865)
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click for details
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Korean Art and Antiques
917-675-1369
$2500
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Stunning Black Lacquer Mother of Pearl Box with Drawers with many fine details. A rare and very beautiful find. It is signed by the artisan on the bottom of one drawer. Throughout Korean history, given the admiration that Korean scholars felt for China, it was quite common for Korean artists and artisans to portray figures in Chinese clothes, as in this example. The workmanship and technique on this box is definitely Korean, such as the direct application of the lacquer to the wood, as opposed to the Chinese technique of layering cloth between the lacquer and wood, just as one example of the proof of the Korean origins of this fine and rare box. It was purchased in Korea in the 1970s. 14w x 11.75h x 10.75d inches, 35.5w x 30h x 27.5d cm.
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19th Century Chest from Jeolla w/Beautiful Old Finish
Catalogue:
Antiques:
Regional Art:
Asian:
Korean:
Furniture:
Pre 1900 item# 871998 (stock# 0352)
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click for details
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Korean Art and Antiques
917-675-1369
$2500
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This old Korean Bandaji (Front Opening Chest) from Jeolla has developed a warm reddish glow to its lovely wood grain from a patina that has been developing since the 19th Century. It is a heart warming piece with a look that can never be replicated with new wood. The finishing process involved singing the wood with a hot iron to both darken it and draw out the resin, and then using straw to rub pinesoot into the grain to further darken it and simultaneously seal the pores and prevent drying, and finishing it with a light pineseed oil finish. A further air of mystery and dignity is given by the very long aging process itself. The ironwork is done in a simple and rustic swallowtail motif, the Korean symbol of beauty and delight. A good find for the serious collector. 39w x 25.75h x 15.25d inches, 99w x 65.5h x 39d cm.
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Extremely Rare 18th Century Korean Chest from Daegu
Catalogue:
Antiques:
Regional Art:
Asian:
Korean:
Furniture:
Pre 1800 item# 872022 (stock# 0358)
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click for details
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Korean Art and Antiques
917-675-1369
$2500
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18th Century Korean Furniture is so rare that this is the only example we have ever had for sale. This 18th Century Bandaji from Daegu is truly a museum piece, as the few extant 18th Century pieces of Korean furniture are almost all in museums or private collections, and more specifically, we know of only one other 18th Century Daegu Bandaji that exists anywhere (The Weisman Art Museum's Edward R. Wright Collection; the late Edward R. Wright was the co-author, along with my old friend Pai Man Sill, of the book considered to be the bible on Korean antique furniture, Traditional Korean Furniture). This bandaji is an important piece of history and a fine example of the early and simple style. With its understated ironwork and slender door, the proportions are rare and elegant. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime offer. 36.75w x 20.75h x 15.75d inches, 93.5w x 53h x 40d cm.
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19th Century Coin Chest with Beautiful Ironwork
Catalogue:
Antiques:
Regional Art:
Asian:
Korean:
Furniture:
Pre 1900 item# 805655 (stock# 0236)
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click for details
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Korean Art and Antiques
917-675-1369
$1500
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This piece was recently on view at an exhibition at the Korea Society. Genuine 19th Century Ton-kwe (Korean Coin Chests) are becoming increasingly rare on the antiques market. They are highly prized by collectors, as their purpose required that they be the heaviest and most well constructed piece of furniture in the home. Paper money did not exist in Joseon Dynasty Korea, and the coins were of very small denominations. They had to be strung together in large, heavy quantities to have any worth, so a strong money box was a necessity. Here's a funny quote from 1898 on Korean money by Mattie Ingold, an American missionary physician who worked in Jeonju: "If Korean money were proportionately as great in value as it is in weight and clumsiness, the Koreans would be a very wealthy people." This coin chest is a fine and old example. The iron lockplate is itself a work of art. It is in the shape of an inventively rendered swallowtail, and is adorned with wan symbols (the wheel of life in Buddhism), a symbol that actually predates Buddhism and originally represented the revolving sun or life. In Buddhism it represents represents the Heart of the Buddha, resignation of spirit, and all happiness that humanity desires. The swallowtail shape is echoed in the iron hinges. The swallow is a symbol of beauty and prosperity in Korea. 36w x 21h x 17.5d inches, 91.5 x 53.5 x 44.5 cm.
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