The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 26, 2024

Box with Painted Oxhorn

Box with Painted Oxhorn

1800s
Overall: 16.5 x 28.6 cm (6 1/2 x 11 1/4 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This box is made of small flattened pieces of oxhorn. Since oxhorn is usually rather small, possibly dozens of them were used to fully decorate even a small wooden object like this box.

Description

This box is colorfully decorated with the technique of oxhorn plating. The oxhorn was cut, soaked in water, boiled, and then pressed into thin translucent sheets. Since oxhorns are usually rather small, dozens of them were required to fully decorate even a small wooden object. This box is colorfully painted with the imagery of auspicious plants and animals such as dragons amid clouds, a white tiger under the pine tree, a grazing deer, and more. This kind of luxurious box was probably produced as a wedding gift.
  • ?-1920
    (John Soo Ahrn, Columbus, OH, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1920-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2014.
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    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 254
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Museum Masters: 2016-17 Companion Guide. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016. Mentioned and Reproduced: P. 31
    Hong, Sun-ah. "A Study on Phoenix Pattern of Hwagak Craft from Late Chosun Period to Early 20th Century [화각공예(華角工藝)의 특성에 관한 연구 : 화각함 중심으로]." Yeoksaminsokhak 50 (June 2016): 277-309. www.riss.kr
    Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, and 국외소재문화재재단. The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Edited by An Min-hŭi. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 227-229, no. 126
  • Gold Needles: Embroidery Arts from Korea. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 7-October 25, 2020).
    Korean Gallery 236 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 10, 2017-January 8, 2018).
    Asian Autumn: Later Korean Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 22, 1992-January 3, 1993).
    Scholar's Studio. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 19-December 17, 1989).
  • {{cite web|title=Box with Painted Oxhorn|url=false|author=|year=1800s|access-date=26 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1920.37