Jade Seal (Reproduction) with Lacquer Box
date: label: Accession Date
content: 22 Jul 2014
name: label: Donor Name
content: National Folk Museum of Korea
notes: label: Notes
content: Seal was presented as a gift from the National Folk Museum of Korea to the Smithsonian on June 7, 2007, during the opening ceremony of the Korea Gallery at the National Museum of Natural History. Paul Taylor, curator of Asian Ethnology says "Jade seals were made by a single artisan who bore the title of "Master Engraver of Jade Seals". The seal was a precious object that symbolized the state and the will of the royal authority."
label: Notes
content: 11 total parts: outer box, lock, key, inner box, lid, seal, certificate/print, card, pillow, inner wrapper, embroidered outer wrapper. Outer box with hinged lid, made of brass with mottled yellow and black finish (lacquer?). Decorative brass trim, hinges, etc. Inside of box is painted red. Secured closed with brass lock and flat key with knotted tassel. Inner box and lid are wood, painted bright gold. Inside of this is the seal, made from metal and painted gold. Handle in the form of a dragon, with a red cord and tassel threaded through. Also included in the box are a card with the seal stamped on it, and text. A small envelope with the card of "Kwon Yang-suk (Mrs. Roh Moo-hyun)" who was the first lady of South Korea at the time the seal was given as a gift to the Smithsonian. Three textiles accompanied the seal, presumably to properly wrap the box for presentation as a gift. This includes a red satin cushion cover, with tassels on each of the corners. An inner wrapper, red on one side and blue on the other with tassels at the corners. And a heavier satin outer wrapper, red with embroidery of two birds on one corner. Back is lined with blue satin, and blue satin ties are stitched to the corner near the embroidery.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 21 Apr 2025
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Seoul, South Korea, Asia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Korean
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 2066530
label: USNM Number
content: E433497-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Seal / Box / Textile
physicalDescription: label: Length - Outer Box
content: 20 cm
label: Width - Outer Box
content: 20 cm
label: Height - Outer Box
content: ca. 25 cm
label: Length - Seal
content: 9.3 cm
label: Width - Seal
content: 9.3 cm
label: Height - Seal
content: ca. 9 cm