A SILVER AND COPPER-INLAID IRON ‘MYTHICAL ANIMALS’ TOBACCO BOX AND COVER, JOSEON DYNASTY
Korea, 18th-19th century. Of rectangular form, superbly decorated with inlays of silver as well as minute and subtle inlays of copper, the cover with a pair of confronted dragons pursuing the flaming pearl among stylized clouds with snake-like copper tongues, the long sides each with a doe and stag beneath a gnarled pine tree, one short side with two cranes with copper crowns beside a bamboo stalk, and the other with a turtle swimming over waves below thick clouds with a mountain range in the background, all enclosed by key-fret borders.


Provenance:
English trade.

Condition:
Good condition with expected old wear and minor manufacturing irregularities, small nicks, light scratches.

Weight: 1,247 g
Dimensions: Length 13.2 cm


The interior of the box
with a sandalwood lining and secondary cover with a silver handle, chased with foliate designs. In Korean Shamanism, sandalwood is considered the Tree of Life.


During the Joseon period
, boxes such as the present lot were used by wealthy gentlemen as storage containers for tobacco, which has been grown and smoked in Korea since the early seventeenth century, when it was introduced from Japan. Such boxes are typically decorated with auspicious motifs, while the present lot is considerably rarer in that it depicts four mythical (or at least distinctively mythologized) animals, each depicted in East Asian art since antiquity: the dragon, deer, turtle, and crane.


Literature comparison:

Compare a related silver-inlaid iron tobacco box, 10.2 cm wide, dated to the Joseon dynasty, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, accession number 1842-1888.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams London, 2 November 2020, lot 225
Price: GBP 6,062 or approx.
EUR 9,100
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A silver-inlaid iron box and cover, Korea, 18th/19th century
Expert remark: Compare the related form and silver-inlaid decorations, albeit depicting figures in landscapes and ‘double-happiness’ characters. Note the sliding door, handle to the side, and the much smaller size (10.5 cm).




朝鮮王朝錯銅銀神獸煙草鐵盒

韓國，十八至十九世紀。 長方形，嵌銀、銅。蓋上雙龍戯珠，長邊兩側各有立在松樹下的一對鹿，一側是竹邊仙鶴，另一側是一隻海中仙龜。邊緣一周雷紋。


來源：
英國古玩交易。

品相：
狀況良好，有磨損和輕微的製造不規則、小刻痕、輕微劃痕。

重量：1,247 克
尺寸：長 13.2 厘米

盒子內有檀香木襯和帶有銀色手柄的副蓋，上面刻有葉狀圖案。 在韓國薩滿教中，檀香被認為是生命之樹。


文獻比較:

比較一件相近的朝鮮王朝錯銅銀煙草鐵盒，10.2 厘米寬，收藏於維多利亞和阿爾伯特博物館，館藏編號1842-1888。


拍賣比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：倫敦邦翰斯，2020年11月2日，lot 225
價格：GBP 6,062（相當今日
EUR 9,100
）
描述：十八至十九世紀韓國銀鑲嵌鐵蓋盒
專家註釋：比較相近的外形和錯銅銀裝飾，但描繪山水人物和“雙喜”紋。請注意滑蓋、有拉環，以及尺寸較小 (10.5 厘米)。