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Rare Mid-19th Century Chest from Kyonggi Province
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Antiques:
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Furniture:
Pre 1900 item# 872016 (stock# 0357)
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click for details
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Korean Art and Antiques
917-675-1369
$2500
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Rare Mid-19th Century Korean Bandaji (Front Opening Chest) from Kyonggi-do. The construction, workmanship, artistry, and rarity of this tall and stately early piece speaks for itself. The color and matching eyes of the grain are a natural work of art. The ironwork is in the form of pullocho, the mythical magical longevity plant, and little iron plum blossom adorn the edges and support the handle. A collector's dream: a fine and well-preserved early Kyonggi Bandaji, a real beauty. Early Kyonggi Bandaji are highly prized by collectors and museums. 37.5w x 33.5h x 17.75d inches, 95w x 85h x 45d cm.
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19th Century Chest from Cholla w/Beautiful Old Finish
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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
$2000
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This old Korean Bandaji (Front Opening Chest) from Cholla has developed a warm reddish glow to its lovely zelkova 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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North Korean Chest with Spectacular Metal Engraving
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Furniture:
Pre 1900 item# 955644 (stock# 0434)
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Korean Art and Antiques
917-675-1369
$1500
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This chest has the finest metalwork of any chest we have ever had. North Korean bandaji (front-opening chests) are renowned for their fine, detailed metalwork. This chest is a great example of North Korean metalwork, spectacular and beautifully rendered with auspicious symbols of pine trees, roosters, bats, peonies, lotus flowers, bamboos, pullochos, sparrows, mountains, and the Chinese symbols for longevity, good fortune, good health, and home. A rare and beautiful find for the fan of Korean metalwork and antique Korean furniture. 40.25h x 35.25w x 18.25d.
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19th Century Coin Chest of Thick and Fine Pine and Iron
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Furniture:
Pre 1900 item# 872013 (stock# 0356)
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click for details
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Korean Art and Antiques
917-675-1369
$1500
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This 19th Century coin chest constructed of an especially fine and thick Korean pine and fine, thick ironwork is a strong and handsome example. Ton-kwe (Korean Coin Chests) 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 Yi 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 Chonju: "If Korean money were proportionately as great in value as it is in weight and clumsiness, the Koreans would be a very wealthy people." 36w x 18d x 16.25h inches, 91.5w x 46d x 41h cm.
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Dark Zelkova Wood Korean Chest from Kangwon
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Furniture:
Pre 1900 item# 871976 (stock# 0348)
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click for details
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Korean Art and Antiques
917-675-1369
$1500
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This Bandaji (Korean Front Opening Chest), constructed entirely of beautiful zelkova wood, has some of the most spectacular ironwork we have ever seen. There are a great variety of finely rendered auspicious motifs, including: hinges that are gorgeous stylizations of pullocho (the magical longevity plant); a gourd shaped center hinge (symbolizing good health); lotus (symbol of birth and creation); chrysanthemums (for a productive, fruitful life); swallowtails (beauty and prosperity); bats (an ancient symbol of good luck); and clouds (In the past, people believed that when they accumulated enough good deeds in this world, they rode clouds to the sky and became a human Buddha in the next world. Shapes of clouds can also be found on the murals in ancient tombs). 36.25" (92cm) wide x 15.75" (40cm) deep x 33" (84cm) tall. This Dark Zelkova Chest from Kangwon makes a perfect pair with our Light Zelkova Chest from Kangwon on this site (Stock#0102), as pictured in the last photo here (#6).
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Fine and Old Korean Coin Chest (Tonkwe), Nice Ironwork
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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 Yi 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 Chonju: "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 of Korean pine 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 (Buddhist swastikas), 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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Light Zelkova Wood Korean Chest from Kangwon
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Antiques:
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Korean:
Furniture:
Pre 1900 item# 648415 (stock# 0102)
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click for details
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Korean Art and Antiques
917-675-1369
$1500
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This Bandaji (Korean Front Opening Chest), constructed entirely of beautiful zelkova wood, has some of the most spectacular ironwork we have ever seen. There are a great variety of finely rendered auspicious motifs, including: hinges that are gorgeous stylizations of pullocho (the magical longevity plant); a gourd shaped center hinge (symbolizing good health); lotus (symbol of birth and creation); chrysanthemums (for a productive, fruitful life); swallowtails (beauty and prosperity); bats (an ancient symbol of good luck); and clouds (In the past, people believed that when they accumulated enough good deeds in this world, they rode clouds to the sky and became a human Buddha in the next world. Shapes of clouds can also be found on the murals in ancient tombs). 36.25" (92cm) wide x 15.75" (40cm) deep x 33" (84cm) tall. This Light Zelkova Chest from Kangwon makes a perfect pair with our Dark Zelkova Chest from Kangwon on this site (Stock#0348), as pictured in the last photo here (#6).
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Extraordinary, Rich Grain on this Rare Korean Chest
Catalogue:
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Furniture:
Pre 1920 item# 648424 (stock# 0103)
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click for details
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Korean Art and Antiques
917-675-1369
$1200
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This Korean Clothing Chest is constructed of large single-plank panels of a very fine Korean Pine with a curly grain and rich, golden hue. A Korean artisan would choose a very large and old tree that grew on a hillside so that it would have this winding grain and would be large enough to provide these large planks, constructing the entire chest from this single tree, giving it a consistently spectacular grain and making this a one-of-a-kind work of art in wood. It really is an extraordinary piece for the purist lover of wood with the highest standards. The remarkable wood required that the wise artisan use minimal, tasteful metalwork. That expectation is artfully met with beautiful iron openwork. The lock plate is a gorgeously stylized pullocho plant (an ancient Korean symbol of longevity) that manages to creatively include, in its center, the Buddhist swastika, symbol of universal peace and harmony. The pullocho theme is quietly echoed on the back hinges, while beautiful little chrysanthemums, the ancient symbol for a fruitful life, lovingly adorn the front and back handle plates. This piece brings more love and warmth to a room than one could ever expect from a piece of furniture. 37" (94cm) wide x 19.75" (50cm) deep x 22" (56cm) tall.
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