Handheld Tablet

This is a handheld object accompanying the official robe of the courtier, a ceremonial dress or a general-duty uniform. It is a long rectangular plate made of ivory or locust wood. It contained royal commands or an official’s report to the king in white writing. The materials used to make it differed according to the wearer’s rank. The handheld tablets for the king and queen were made of jade, and called gyu.