Container

Gori, or wicker basket, is a container consisting of a lower part and the upper part for covering the former. It was used to store or transport clothes, documents, or books. It was also used to place rice cakes for important events such as weddings or ancestral rites. It is also called gorijjak, where the term “gori” refers to wicker, the material used to make the basket. The basket is made by densely weaving peeled willow branches or bush clover, and attaching a thin, wide wooden plank both on the inside and outside of the rim, before sewing up the rim with pine root. To prevent damage, oiled paper was often applied on the inside, where paper motifs for good fortune or paintings were pasted before applying oil, before the basket was used to store precious items. Its size differed according to its purpose. Circular baskets are called donggori, while those with corners are referred to as mojaebi. Gori was the most important storage furniture before wooden chests and wardrobes became more developed, and was often placed on a wardrobe or wall shelf. The gori shown here has a generally rectangular form, although the corners are round. The upper part is slightly larger than the lower part, so that the upper part could be used as a lid to overlap the width of the wooden plate on the edge. A thin layer of lacquer is applied to the exterior surface in order to prevent damage.