Korean Lacquer Table, ca. 1930
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GUEST:
The Atwoods were a very big family in Anchorage. Especially Bob Atwood was one of the big movers and shakers behind Alaska statehood. When the last Atwood died, the Atwood Foundation was selling the house, and they had an invitation-only estate sale, and my mom got an invitation, so she dragged me along.
APPRAISER:
I'm curious, when you went in the Atwood house, were there other things like this?
GUEST:
There was a whole room that was full of Asian art. I paid $300. It was not long after I'd graduated college. (chuckling): So it was a lot of money for me, and it was my first really big purchase. I grew up in the Japanese immersion program locally and studied Japanese and Chinese through college. And I'm actually now a, a local Japanese teacher.
APPRAISER:
Oh.
GUEST:
Um, so I've, I've always loved the art, and, and the culture, and the language. When I asked the people who were running the estate sale, they said they thought it was Korean, and I'm, like, "Well, that's the area I don't know in East Asia." (laughs)
APPRAISER:
It is Korean.
GUEST:
Oh, cool.
APPRAISER:
The decoration, it's so striking. A dragon, phoenix, and in the center, the pearl of wisdom, sometimes called the flaming pearl. The surface is a dark caramel color, but if you look at it really carefully, you see it's infused with little flecks of gold. You see this rope-twist brass outlined border surrounding all the different elements. And then broken shell that has been polished. This kind of speckled caramel, dark brown. This sea turtle shell. For something of this age and this type, there are no real restrictions on this sea turtle shell, but it's something that one should explore prior to selling. Those laws and regulations change.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
One of the great accomplishments in the arts in Japan is the use of lacquer. The dark-color ground of this is lacquer. From 1910 to 1945, Korea is annexed by Japan. And I'm wondering if this very high-quality workmanship that we see on this table, which is from that period, 1910 to 1945, was a reflection of interest by the Japanese in their own tradition of working with lacquer. And perhaps it would have been intended partially for not just a Korean audience, but also a Japanese audience. Hard to say.
GUEST:
Wow. (chuckles)
APPRAISER:
The symbolism is indicating marital harmony. Not only is this talking about marital harmony, it's looking back into the very foundations of Korean society. I think, for insurance purposes, I'd value this at $3,000.
GUEST:
Wow. (laughs) Oh, my goodness. (sighs) I might have to stop putting my feet on it. But... (laughs) Thank you.
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