The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 30, 2023

Chopstick

청동 젓가락 (靑銅箸)

918–1392

Part of a set. See all set records

Korea, Goryeo period

(918-1392)

Bronze

Overall: 24.5 cm (9 5/8 in.)

Gift of John L. Severance 1921.661.1

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

In contrast to the Chinese and Japanese, Koreans still prefer metal chopsticks (stainless steel and brass) to wooden ones.

Description

In Korea, chopsticks made of metal such as brass, silver, and gold were excavated from ancient tombs and ruins dated to the 6th century at the earliest. Burial goods often include utilitarian objects such as table wares and utensils because the dead were believed to need them in the afterlife.

Citations
Goryeo Dynasty: Korea's Age of Enlightenment, 918-1392. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2003.
Horlyck, Charlotte. "The Eternal Link: Grave Goods of the Koryŏ Kingdom (918-1392 CE)." Ars Orientalis 44 (2014): 156-79. www.jstor.org
Bronze in Life and Art [삶과 예술 속. 청동 靑銅 이야기] National Cheongju Museum (2016).
Goryeo: The Glory of Korea [대고려, 그 찬란한 도전]. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2018.
Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1921.661.1