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Chaesaekjagae-jogakbo

The style of Korean furniture that persisted throughout the Joseon Dynasty period, and up to the 1970’s is well represented by the main room of a typical house radiant with mother-of-pearl decorated furniture, such as wardrobes, dressing tables, stationery chests, and display cabinets.

Major subjects for mother-of-pearl plaque were landscape, flowers and birds, and auspicious patterns. I searched in and around Sinseol-dong in Seoul looking for old mother-of-pearl plaques when the demand for this style of furniture had fallen drastically following the great popularity of hardwood furniture dating from the 1990’s.

I found the patterns showed interesting different effects depending on the technique and the surface to which they are applied, such as glass and paper rather than fabric.

* Colored Mother-of-Pearl