Lacquer, celadon, or bronze ensembles composed of four trefoil boxes surrounding a larger round or flower-shaped box served as containers for cosmetics or incense. Very few Goreyo-period lacquer boxes with mother-of-pearl inlay have survived; this is a particularly fine example.
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나전 대모 칠 국화 넝쿨 무늬 꽃 모양 합 고려 螺鈿玳瑁漆菊唐草文半花形盒 高麗
Title:Trefoil-shaped covered box with decoration of chrysanthemums
Period:Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
Date:ca.12th century
Culture:Korea
Medium:Lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl and tortoise shell over pigment and brass wire
Dimensions:H. 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm); L. 4 in. (10.2 cm); D. 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm)
Classification:Lacquer
Credit Line:Fletcher Fund, 1925
Accession Number:25.215.41a, b
[ G. Kitanaka , Kyoto, until 1925; sold to MMA]
Seoul. Hoam Museum of Art. "Great Koryo Exhibition: The Triumph of the Artistic," July 14, 1995–September 10, 1995.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Arts of Korea," June 7, 1998–January 24, 1999.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arts of Korea," August 23, 2003–June 28, 2004.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arts of Korea," January 14, 2005–October 29, 2006.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Mother-of-Pearl: A Tradition in Asian Lacquer," December 2, 2006–April 1, 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art of Korea," July 7–November 15, 2009.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Contemplations on the Moon Jar," November 16, 2009–April 25, 2010.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arts of Korea," May 19–November 7, 2010.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Representation/Abstraction in Korean Art," November 23, 2010–March 20, 2011.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Patchwork Textiles Across Cultures," August 24–December 5, 2011.
Seoul. National Museum of Korea. "Korean Art Collections in the United States," June 4, 2012–August 5, 2012.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Korea: 100 Years of Collecting at the Met," February 7, 2015–March 27, 2016.
Seoul. Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art. "Exquisite and Precious: The Splendor of Korean Art," July 2, 2015–September 13, 2015.
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. "Luminous," April 29, 2016–October 23, 2016.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Essential Korea," June 7, 2018–November 14, 2021.
National Museum of Korea. "Goryeo: The Glory of Korea," December 4, 2018–March 3, 2019.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Shell and Resin: Korean Mother-of-Pearl and Lacquer," December 13, 2021–July 5, 2022.
Watt, James C. Y., and Barbara Brennan Ford. East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991, p. 306, fig. 32.
Leidy, Denise Patry. Mother-of Pearl: A Tradition in Asian Lacquer. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006, p. 52, cat. no. 2.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012, p. 109.
Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art. Semil kagwi: Han'guk misul ŭi p'umkyŏk 세밀가귀 細密可貴 : 한국미술의품격 (Exquisite and precious: the splendor of Korean art). Exh. cat. Seoul: Samsŏng Misulgwan, Leeum, 2015, pp. 80–81, 367–368, cat. no. 29.
Kungnip Chungang Pangmulgwan. Tae Koryŏ 918-2018: Kŭ Ch'allanhan Tojŏn: T'ŭkpyŏljŏn 대고려 918-2018 : 그 찬란한 도전 : 특별전 (Goryeo: the glory of Korea: special exhibition). Exh. cat. Seoul: Kungnip Chungang Pangmulgwan, 2018, pp. 69, 317, cat. no. 66.
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