1880, pear wood with brass fixtures and red mineral color, found on Kang-wha Island; certified. 26″ w, 14″ d, 14.5″ h.
This box was used to store wedding gifts for the bride. The beautiful brass lock-plate is in the motif of a lotus, signifying purity. A brass handle is on each side of the box, making it easy to move around. A wedding box like this is usually given by a groom to his bride to keep valuable small items. The bride usually keeps it on top of a clothing storage chest in the women’s quarter (anch’ae) after the marriage.
This box was found on Kang-wha Island, a political prison colony for the Kingdom of Korea for two thousand years. According to a professor of Korean history and antiquity, red mineral color was used only in the palace in Korea at that era, so this could be a royal wedding box, a valuable piece to collect. It is certified.