Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form
Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form

Mother of Pearl Jewelry Chest Pair: Butterfly and Peony Motif in Scholar’s Desk Form

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“A quiet garden settles into stillness, its flowers and wings held in patient balance.”

This double chest, created by Oh Myung-ho, presents a composed meditation on abundance, harmony, and refined domestic ritual within the language of Korean shellwork. The work demonstrates the defining characteristics of the tradition: shell reduced to remarkable thinness, multiple shell varieties layered with deliberation, and restrained hand-colouring applied only where symbolic emphasis is required. Here, colour does not decorate—it clarifies meaning.

The form is drawn from the gyeongsang, the traditional Korean scholar’s desk. Its gently upturned edges and subtly curved sides articulate the Korean understanding of beauty as something that rises lightly rather than asserting itself. These curved planes are not incidental. They require shell pieces of exceptional thinness and precision, demanding a level of craftsmanship beyond that of flat surfaces. The form itself becomes a measure of the maker’s discipline.

With the exception of the base and rear panel, the chest is enveloped in applied shellwork. Against a deep black ground—chosen for its capacity to absorb light rather than reflect it—the surface unfolds like a nocturnal garden. Across the lid, butterflies drift among peonies, their movement unhurried and cyclical. In Korean visual culture, butterflies are associated with joy, marital harmony, and gentle continuity, while peonies signify wealth, dignity, and flourishing life. Their pairing is not ornamental coincidence but a long-established wish for enduring prosperity softened by grace.

The peonies are selectively coloured, their petals deepened with subtle reds and purples, while surrounding foliage and butterflies are rendered through contrasting shell types. This deliberate variation creates depth without excess, allowing the motifs to emerge gradually as light shifts across the surface. The lid reads as a single pictorial field, recalling the experience of viewing a painted screen rather than a container.

Structurally, the chest opens as a ssanghap—a paired form that opens from the centre to the left and right. The butterfly-shaped clasp, released by hand, introduces a moment of pause before access is granted. This opening gesture transforms use into a small ritual, reinforcing the object’s contemplative character. Within, four drawers provide ordered storage, each lined with embroidered fabric, offering a tactile counterpoint to the cool lustre of shell.

Despite its density of decoration, the chest does not seek visual dominance. Its proportions remain measured; its motifs are contained within a disciplined framework. Like the scholar’s desk that inspired it, the piece proposes an ideal of cultivated living—where beauty is present, but never impatient.

Placed within a private interior, this double chest does more than hold valued possessions. It establishes a mood: one of quiet abundance, balance, and continuity. It is an object that reveals itself slowly, rewarding familiarity and time rather than immediate attention.

*As each piece is crafted by hand using natural shell, variations in colour, tone, and placement naturally occur. The visual impression may also shift under different lighting conditions, including natural and artificial light.


Dimensions

  • Medium Scale
    Width- 19cm (7.48 inch)
    Depth- 9cm (3.54 inch)
    Height- 12cm (4.72 inch)

  • Grand Scale
    Width- 23.5cm (9.25 inch)
    Depth- 11cm (4.33 inch)
    Height- 14cm (5.51 inch)

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We ship worldwide from South Korea. Options include:

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