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Source 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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
101636
label
Box with Painted Oxhorn
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
101636
contentType
object
title
Box with Painted Oxhorn
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.
date
1800s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79497274
genreSpecific
Miscellaneous
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 16.5 x 28.6 cm (6 1/2 x 11 1/4 in.)
cul
Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
accession
1920.37
Source extras
tec
painted wood with flattened ox-horn inlay
tombstone
Box with Painted Oxhorn (화각함 [華角函]), 1800s. Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). Painted wood with flattened ox-horn inlay; overall: 16.5 x 28.6 cm (6 1/2 x 11 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Sundry Purchase Fund, 1920.37
titleInOriginalLanguage
화각함 [華角函]
collection
Korean Art
didYouKnow
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.
citations
citation
Ye, Yong-hae. "Hwagakjang." <em>Ye Yong-hae j</em>eonjip<em>. </em>Seoul: Daewonsa, 1997.
citation
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]." <em>Silhaksasang yeongu </em>15–16 (January 2000): 543–612.
citation
<em>Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910</em>. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2014.
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 254
citation
“A Walking Tour: The entire new museum wing by wing, with curators calling out a few favorite works in the collection.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em> 54, no. 1 (January/February 2014): 8–33.
page_number
Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 29
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Museum Masters: 2016-17 Companion Guide.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 31
citation
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]." <em>Yeoksaminsokhak </em>50 (June 2016): 277–309.
citation
Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, and 국외소재문화재재단. <em>The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. 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.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 227–229, no. 126
creditline
Sundry Purchase Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:29:44.849000
sourceId
101636
dept
Korean Art
coll
Korean Art
med
painted wood with flattened ox-horn inlay
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
28c06de88ded5908