Dobrovits Aladár szerk.: Az Iparművészeti Múzeum Évkönyvei 5. (Budapest, 1962)

HOPP FERENC MÚZEUM - MUSÉE FERENC HOPP - Ferenczy, László: The Collection of Corean Industrial Art. A Gift of the Corean People's Democratic Republic

Fig. 9. Lacquered toilet case. 19th century Lacquerwork is also a primeval branch of Corean art-industry. The lacquer-remains of the Chinese Naknang-colony are known in great number from the Phenyang gravefield. Already in the time of the Three Kingdoms Coreans decorated their lacquer objects in their own taste. A special Corean way of decoration is the mother-of-pearl and horn-plate inlay on black and red lacquer-works. For a mother-of-pearl decoration the prepared pattern was fixed on the surface by a mixture of resin and lacquer, being polished afterwards ; or the artists sawed thin plates of horn and fixed them on the surface. In Corea lacquer was used mostly for covering tables, screens, boxes, handboxes etc. The six new Corean lacquered boxes are made in the traditional technique and they are decorated mostly with old patterns. On the cover of one of the nicest lacquered box we see a mother-of-pearl inlaid phoenix (Fig. 8). On the cover of an other one a pagoda, on its eight sides alternatively two scenes are inlaid in mother-of-pearl : a tortoise with a flying heron and two roes with the moon respectively. On a tiny box symbols of good luck are visible. On the cover of one of the two horn-covered boxes a peacock is painted. Coreans used too keep generally few pieces of furniture in their homes. Nevertheless the carved and lacquered furnitures of their masters were famous. Carved objects and furnitures of wood were preferred mostly in the I-period. The furniture in the collection are of the nineteenth century and represent different Corean types. The low elongated tables with several drawers have been made usually of oak or poplar and embellished with carvings. Girls were married in the I-period very early, having only 13—14 years of age. Their parents used to present them on such occasions tables with drawers of this kind, together with toys, jewels and cosmetics.