Ensembles containing four trefoil boxes surrounding a larger round or flower-shaped box served as containers for cosmetics or incense. This piece was originally part of such a set. There are also similar ceramic and bronze examples, attesting to a mixing of influences across media. Exquisitely crafted and intricately ornamented with inlaid slivers of mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell, this jewel of a box represents the height of lacquer ware made during the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392).
