The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Incense Box with Dragon Design

Incense Box with Dragon Design

1900s
(1392–1910)
Painted wood with flattened ox-horn inlay
Diameter: 7.2 cm (2 13/16 in.); Overall: 3.6 cm (1 7/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1988.54
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

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

Description

This incense 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. The lid of this container is colorfully illustrated with the imagery of a dragon amid clouds deemed as an auspicious symbol, and its side presents flying dragon and phoenix following one after another.
  • ?-1988
    (Masaaki Yoshida, Kyoto, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1988-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • “The Year in Review for 1988.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 76, no. 2, 1989, pp. 30–75. Mentioned: p. 75, no. 218 www.jstor.org
    Ye, Yong-hae. "Hwagakjang." Ye Yong-hae jeonjip. Seoul: Daewonsa, 1997.
    Jeong, Myeong-ho. "Hangukgongye gwahakgisulbaldalsa: hwagakgongyee daehan yeongureul jungsimeuro [韓國工藝 科學技術發達史: 華角工藝에 대한 연구를 중심으로]." Silhaksasang yeongu 15-16 (January 2000): 543-612. www.dbpia.co.kr
    Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2014.
    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
  • 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).
    The Year in Review for 1988. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 14, 1989).
  • {{cite web|title=Incense Box with Dragon Design|url=false|author=|year=1900s|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1988.54