Box decorated with dragons

Korea

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This box’s lively design features two dragons chasing a flaming jewel. The beasts’ long, sinewy bodies wrap around the sides of the box; their heads face each other at opposite corners at the top. The dragons’ colorfully variegated bodies are predominately made from ray skin, while mother-of-pearl is strategically inlaid to bring luminescence to the dragons’ eyes and to the clouds. Tortoiseshell forms dark clouds, with wispy, thin-lined clouds made in contrasting wire.

Box decorated with dragons, Lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, ray skin, and brass wire, Korea

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