Cleveland Museum of Art

Tray for Sewing Tools with Mother-of-Pearl Inlay

Date

1800s

Medium

lacquer with mother-of-pearl inlay

Culture

Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)

Department

Korean Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This mother-of-pearl lacquer tray is decorated with various scenes of animals interacting with their natural surroundings. Its flat circular base depicts a pond where a leaping carp and a small school of fish swim below the boughs of a cherry tree. The tray’s exterior wall is densely decorated with various animals paired with plants symbolizing wishful thoughts of longevity, marital happiness, and prosperity. Many thin layers of lacquer were applied to the tray's leather core. The design was cut into the dry lacquer and then the mother-of-pearl was inserted.

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