나전 대모 어피 칠 용 무늬 상자 조선|螺鈿玳瑁魚皮漆 龍文 箱子 朝鮮|Box decorated with dragons

Unknown

19th century · Lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, ray skin, and brass wire · Asian Art

This box’s lively design features two dragons chasing a flaming jewel. The beasts’ long, sinewy bodies wrap around the sides of the box; their heads face each other at opposite corners at the top. The dragons’ colorfully variegated bodies are predominately made from ray skin, while mother-of-pearl is strategically inlaid to bring luminescence to the dragons’ eyes and to the clouds. Tortoiseshell forms dark clouds, with wispy, thin-lined clouds made in contrasting wire.

Artist

Unknown

Date

19th century

Medium

Lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, ray skin, and brass wire

Culture

Korea

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015