Accession Number
2009/2.25A-C

Title
Chest (in three pieces)

Artist(s)
Korean

Artist Nationality
Korean (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
late 19th–early 20th century

Medium & Support
wood and iron fittings

Dimensions
4 ft. 7 7/8 in. x 36 7/16 in. x 14 3/8 in. (141.8 x 92.4 x 36.5 cm);x 36 7/16 x 14 3/8 in. x 92.4 x 36.5 cm;x 34 5/16 x 13 7/8 in. x 87 x 35.2 cm

Credit Line
Museum Purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art Collection Fund

Physical Description
A chest in three pieces, all stacked on top of on another. The two chest pieces feature small center doors with decorative iron fittings around the handles and the hinges. Decorative iron fittings are added at each wood inlay location.

This type of stacked chest (nong ) is often called gaepan-nong (chest with a larger top panel). This is a low-quality chest produced in the Tongyeong-si area, for use in the lady’s quarter (anbang ). The door panels on the upper level merely serve a decorative function. The side panels have no handles attached. The panels are attached with veneers which are inlaid with black double-line around the borders. The panels are generally thin, and their inner surface is lined with white paper. There are three drawers in the pedestal. The top plate, side panels and bottom panel are all joined by finger joints, while the back panel is attached using butt joints. The hinges and other fittings are cut from thin nickel plates.[Korean Collection, University of Michigan Museum of Art (2017) p. 271]

Primary Object Classification
Furniture and Furniture Accessories

Primary Object Type
chest

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
chests (animal components)
furniture
iron (metal)
wood (plant material)