Two-tiered Chest Embroidered with Ten Symbols of Longevity

This two-tiered chest has red felt (jeon) embroidered with the Ten Symbols of Longevity and other motifs attached to its front. Made of paulownia wood, it is 77 cm wide and 138.5 cm high, with red felt embroidered in various patterns attached to the front of both tiers; the four corners, joints and door pulls are made of and decorated with brass. The upper and lower tiers bear matching motifs. The upper section is framed in paulownia wood, to which red felt embroidered with a vine-scroll pattern is attached; below it, on the doors, paulownia wood again frames red felt embroidered with the Ten Symbols of Longevity set within an "a"-character (亞) lattice pattern, accompanied by clouds and waves. The lower section likewise has a paulownia-wood frame around red felt embroidered with a lotus pattern accompanied by clouds and waves. The embroidery was worked in twisted yellow, green and blue thread. Beneath the chest is a shallow, table-like stand with brass fittings at its four corners, and brass handles are fitted on both sides to make the chest easier to move. Paulownia-wood chests are not as showy as those finished with mother-of-pearl inlay or burl veneer, but they were prized for their plain, refined elegance. What stands out here is the way the Ten Symbols of Longevity and other motifs favoured by earlier generations have been finely embroidered onto felt and neatly fitted to the piece; it is thought to date from the 18th–19th century.

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

National Folklore Heritage · 국가민속문화유산