Box decorated with dragons

Korea

Not on view

The design elements of this box—two dragons in the clouds in pursuit of a jewel—are very similar to the nearby clothing box, yet the depiction is quite different owing to the artist’s sophisticated application of inlaid material. 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 thin-lined wisps made in contrasting wire.

Box decorated with dragons, Lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, ray skin, and brass wire, Korea

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Box decorated with dragons, Lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, ray skin, and brass wire, Korea
Box decorated with dragons, Lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, ray skin, and brass wire, Korea

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