Foliate-Shaped Tray with Mother-of-Pearl Inlay (late 1400s–early 1500s): Art, History and Details

Foliate-Shaped Tray with Mother-of-Pearl Inlay (late 1400s–early 1500s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Since the Goryeo dynasty, Korean mother-of-pearl lacquerware has been admired for its refinement, though few early examples survive. This tray, datable to the late 1400s or early 1500s, is exceptional for both rarity and condition. Its foliate form, peony vine motif, and intricate lattice border—originally derived from Goryeo-period decorative arts—are exquisitely reinterpreted through the refined craftsmanship of early Joseon artisans.

Object facts

• Title: Foliate-Shaped Tray with Mother-of-Pearl Inlay
• Date: late 1400s–early 1500s
• Culture: Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
• Type: Lacquer
• Technique: Inlaid abalone shells on black lacquer ground, applied with red lacquer on the interior
• Dimensions: width: 44.1 cm (17 3/8 in.)
• Collection: Korean Art
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 2026.3

A detail from the museum

This tray’s intricately decorated surface was created through a labor-intensive inlay technique employing thin, precisely cut abalone shell.

Collection credit

Sundry Art - Miscellaneous Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Hwang, Chi-hyŏn 황 지현 and Sadamu Kawada 河 田貞. Korean Lacquerware Inlaid with Mother-of-Pearl: The Everlasting Beauty. First edition. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2010.
• Korean Lacquer Art: Aesthetic Perfection. Münster, Munich: Museum für Lackkunst; Hirmer Verlag, 2012.
• You, Hong June 유홍준. Korean Art History for Everyone. Seoul: Nulwa, 2025.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.