Accession Number
2009/2.32

Title
Wooden Bowl

Artist(s)
Korean

Artist Nationality
Korean (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
late 19th–early 20th century

Medium & Support
wood

Dimensions
3 9/16 x 15 9/16 x 8 5/16 in. (8.9 x 39.4 x 21 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Ok Ja Chang and the Chang Family

Physical Description
A large and rectangularly shaped carved wooden bowl. Two of the sides of the bowl are closer to being flat surfaces than round.

These large bowls (hamji) were made by carving out large, single pieces of wood. Notches or handles have been carved out on two opposite sides of the outer walls, making them easy to carry. Round hamji bowls were sometimes carved on a turning lathe, but those with notches could be made by carving out single lengths of wood with an adz. These bowls were used in towns and the countryside alike. Affluent households would possess sets of large, medium-sized, and small bowls with notches piled up together. When grinding mung beans, beans, or red beans, such bowls are placed below a grindstone supported by a tripod.

[Korean Collection, University of Michigan Museum of Art (2017) p. 274]

Primary Object Classification
Wood and Woodcarving

Primary Object Type
bowl

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
Korean (culture or style)
bowls (vessels)
wood (plant material)