Food-covering Oiled Paper

Sangbo is a cloth used for covering a dining table or a wooden tray for carrying food. It prevented dust or flies from touching the table, and also served a decorative purpose. Some sangbo were made of patchwork fabric, while those made of oil paper were called sikjibo. Sangbo used in summer was made of paper or ramie cloth and adorned with a handle at the center, while those for winter were lined with thick cloth or padded with cotton batting to keep the food warm. The rectangular sangbo shown here was made of oil paper. The four sides were folded and pasted to allow the sangbo to cover up the table. At the center, flower motifs are surrounded by butterfly and bat designs in colored paper.