Ca 1870, lime wood, North Korea. Ironwork distinctly northern part of Korea in design; from N. Korea before war. 24¼” h. 30” w. 15¼” d.
Made in what is now North Korea, it came to the south before the Korean War. It has distinctive North Korea iron decorative fittings of by-gone days. The metal is thick and decorative patterns hand-made, not found in furniture reproduced in the North today. Reproductions started being made to get sold to Chinese merchants after China opened to the outside world, to be sold to tourists. Ones seen in China are poorly made, decorated with very thin brass-work, some pieces not even in same gold color! Any furniture originally made in North Korea is hard to find outside that country today. This chest is certified in the 1990s by a Korean Professor of Korean History and Antiquity to be an authentic North Korean antique piece, thus giving it historical value.