Lock for Chest

Accession Number
2009/2.88

Title
Lock for Chest

Artist(s)
Korean

Artist Nationality
Korean (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
Late 19th–early 20th century

Medium & Support
metal

Dimensions
2 3/16 x 2 3/16 x 11/16 in. (5.4 x 5.4 x 1.6 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Ok Ja Chang and the Chang Family

Physical Description
A round metal lock meant to lock a chest. The front of the metal disc is decorated with a line carving of a Korean character surrounded by multiple carved circles and bulb-like motifs. Around the central design is a ring of larger circles.

Locks such as these nickel ones were used for locking chests or stacked chests. Their keys are missing. The Chinese characters “longevity (壽)” and “bliss (福)” are engraved on locks plate 296 (2009/2.88) and plate 297 (2009/2.89), respectively.

[Korean Collection, University of Michigan Museum of Art (2017), 247]


 

Primary Object Classification
Furniture and Furniture Accessories

Primary Object Type
lock

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)
chests (animal components)
durability
locks (securing devices)

& Author Notes

All Rights Reserved

On display

UMMA Gallery Location ➜ FFW, Mezzanine ➜ M07 (Woon-hyung Lee and Korea Foundation Gallery of Korean Art)