Box with peony motif

During the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910), mother-of-pearl lacquerwares were made not only for the Korean upper class but also as special products for annual tributes to Chinese imperial families. According to the historical records, Joseon kings sent two mother-of-pearl boxes to China every year after 1482. This rectangular box, with its fine and rare decorations of lotus flowers, might have been one of those made for royal families during the mid-Joseon period.

The outer surface of this box is decorated with mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, and brass wire. The use of these materials with mother-of-pearl was developed during the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) and reappeared during the mid-Joseon period. The main pattern on this box is the lotus flower. On its top, two lotus flowers of bright mother-of-pearl are centered in a black lacquered surface. Twisted brass wires and small mother-of-pearl pieces surround the main flowers like vines with leaves. The sides of the box are also decorated with lotus flowers and roundel motifs, while the bottom features a wide band with a lozenge pattern made of cracked mother-of-pearl pieces. This cracking technique, called tabal-beob, could be used to cover broader and bigger patterns more easily than previous techniques. The inside of this box is wholly lined with yellow silk woven with gold and colored thread. The main pattern of this silk shows five-colored clouds and four-colored dragons with large jaws. Such auspicious motifs were used only on works made for the upper class. The use of high-quality, patterned silk in this box is a rare and precious example among mother-of-pear lacquerwares of the Joseon dynasty.

However, more than twelve boxes nearly identical in dimension and design to this one are known to exist, including one example in the collection of the National Museum of Korea. The other similar boxes are not yet fully researched, but some of them might have been made during the same period. According to the historical record, in January 1505 Yeonsan-gun (1476–1506; reigned 1494–1506), the tenth king of Korea’s Joseon dynasty, ordered 150 mother-of-pearl lacquer boxes to be made. This box and its matches could have been mass-produced during Yeonsan-gun’s reign.