Rectangular coffee table - Lot 74

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Lot n° 74
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Estimation :
10000 - 15000 EUR
Rectangular coffee table - Lot 74
Rectangular coffee table Korea, Choson period, 19th century Lacquered wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl, shagreen, tortoiseshell and copper wire H: 37 cm, W: 100 cm, D: 69.5 cm The flight of the two dragons facing each other unfolds over the plateau and is made of inlays of mother-of-pearl, copper wire, shagreen and tortoise shell. The scrolled belt also features a decoration of geometric figures made of the same materials. A formidable movement is given by the bodies of the dragons that occupy the whole space of the tray, rolled up on themselves, head to tail and whose heads face each other. The structure of the bodies is given by a twisted copper or brass wire that encloses legs and body. The scales are perfectly rendered by small juxtaposed elements of tinted shagreen in the shape of a half-moon. The sacred tortoiseshell bead cut into a spiral shape is placed between the two heads. The brown lacquer is in some places lighter and brighter due to the presence of gold powder sprinkled on it. The mother-of-pearl is used in small fragments juxtaposed to form the clouds of this turbulent sky. The eyes of the dragons are also made from iridescent mother-of-pearl rings that give a particularly lively look to the birds. Folded metal wires forming zigzags fill the rest of the space left free. A probably exceptional piece of furniture of which we have not found an equivalent. The Metropolitan Museum of New York (see reference below) has a clothes box from the same period, which uses the same pattern of the dragons facing each other and the same materials. We find the same ingenuity that plays on the polychromies given by the use of different materials and that gives the whole thing movement and dramatic effect. Rectangular table Korea, Chosonn period, 19th century Lacquered wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl, sharkskin, tortoiseshell and copper wire H: 37 cm, W: 100 cm, D: 69.5 cm
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