Traditional Korean ichung nong (이층농), a two-level wooden clothing chest with dark iron fittings, hinged doors, circular lock plates and decorative carrying handles.

NONG – 이층농

Nong- 이층농 in Korean is used to define a stackable clothing chest. The name has been used since the Goryeo Dynasty. Nong originally did not have legs, but later on, a leg part, called madae (馬臺), was attached to it. In the beginning, Korean furniture tended to be small, light, and plain, with minimal decoration […]

KOREAN FURNITURE IDENTIFICATION.

If you wish to know more about your items, and want us to examine your pictures and give you more detailed information about your item origin, or if your item is real antique or not, Do not hesitate to contact us by email at: tortuebangkok@gmail.com. Send us photos to assist in identifying your pieces. Precise […]

Traditional Korean red lacquer chest decorated with colorful painted motifs, a central metal lock plate and matching decorative objects displayed on a red background.

AUCTIONS IN KOREA – 2025

K AUCTION. 23 Eonju-ro 172-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea. SEOUL AUCTION. Jong-Ro No. 01-2173 11, Pyeongchang 31-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea Email : info@seoulauction.com KAN-OGSYEON AUCTION. Jongno-gu, Insadong 4-gil, Seoul, Korea. MYART AUCTION Co., Ltd. 5th, 6th, B1 floor, Chunghoon Building, 62-5 Insa-dong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Auction room filled with bidders, showing a participant raising a hand during a sale, with the text “Auctions 2025” in the upper right corner.

KOREAN ANTIQUE FURNITURE AUCTIONS WORLDWIDE – 2025.

This report documents Korean antique furniture offered at international auctions throughout 2025, providing an overview of estimates, sale results and market trends in Europe, North America and Asia.

Traditional Korean bandaji chest with decorative iron fittings, shown beside a map of Korea's historical provinces, illustrating the identification of regional furniture styles.

HOW TO IDENTIFY THE REGIONAL ORIGIN OF A KOREAN BANDAJI.

In this publication, we examine bandaji of various designs and attempt to determine their geographical origin. One important point worth emphasizing is that metalwork alone is not sufficient to establish regional provenance. Hinges and locking plates can be replaced, and similar designs were sometimes used in different regions. Wood species, construction, proportions and documented provenance […]

KOREAN SYMBOLISM & PATTERNS MEANINGS

PATTERNS SYMBOLISM IN KOREAN ART. In a previous publication METALWORK PATTERNS ON KOREAN FURNITURE, we listed the various decorative motifs on the hinges of Korean furniture. Below, we examine their meanings. Korean furniture, such as bandaji (storage chests), jang (wardrobes), mungap (stationery chests), and ham (boxes or cases), is often decorated with symbolic patterns that […]

Traditional Korean Hamgyong-do bandaji chest with reddish wooden panels, elaborate pierced iron hinges, geometric metal ornaments, circular studs and raised legs.

HAMGYONG DO BANDAJI – 함경도 반닫이

Hamgyŏng Do province was bounded on the west by P’yŏngan Do province, on the south by Hwanghae Do and Gangwŏn Do provinces, on the east by the Sea of Japan, and on the north by China and the Russian Empire. It was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon dynasty and the provincial capital was Hamhung. Hamgyŏng-Do is the […]

KOREAN ROYAL FURNITURE. Furniture of the Joseon Court.

The furniture illustrations in this chapter come from the collections of selected Korean museums. Most of the pieces date from the late Joseon dynasty, specifically from the late 18th and 19th centuries. The study is relatively complex, given the limited amount of information available on the subject. Our deductions are based on the analysis of […]

Two examples of traditional Korean Tongyeong craftsmanship: decorative white brass fittings on a wooden cabinet and intricate floral mother-of-pearl inlay on a black lacquer surface.

TONGYEONG. A CENTER FOR KOREAN TRADITIONAL CRAFTSMANSHIP.

Tongyeong (통영) in Korean, is a coastal city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Chungmu City and Tongyeong County were reunited in 1995, creating Tongyeong City as it is known today. It was formerly known as Chungmu, named after the posthumous title of Admiral Yi Sun-sin. Thanks to its location at the southern tip of […]