국립중앙박물관 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA

Celadon Cosmetics Box with Openwork Tortoiseshell Design

This box was excavated from a Goryeo tomb in Mosan-ri, Yongsan-myeon, Jangheung, South Jeolla Province in 1939. The outer walls of the box are perforated with an openwork tortoiseshell pattern of hexagons that are uniquely inlaid. The vertical partitions and the rectangular tray from the interior of the box are also decorated with openwork designs. Upon being excavated, the box was found to contain a celadon oil bottle with a chrysanthemum design, a rectangular bronze mirror, and a needle case, indicating that the box probably served as a woman’s cosmetics case.

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