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Fine and Old Korean Coin Chest (Tonkwe), Nice Ironwork browse these categories for related items... All Items: Korean: Furniture: Pre 1900: item #805655 Please refer to our stock #0236 when inquiring.
$2000 |
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| Genuine 19th Century Ton-kwe (Korean Coin Chests) are becoming increasingly rare on the antiques market. They are highly prized by collectors, as their purpose required that they be the heaviest and most well constructed piece of furniture in the home. Paper money did not exist in Yi Dynasty Korea, and the coins were of very small denominations. They had to be strung together in large, heavy quantities to have any worth, so a strong money box was a necessity. Here's a funny quote from 1898 on Korean money by Mattie Ingold, an American missionary physician who worked in Chonju: "If Korean money were proportionately as great in value as it is in weight and clumsiness, the Koreans would be a very wealthy people." This coin chest of Korean pine is a fine and old example. The iron lockplate is itself a work of art. It is in the shape of an inventively rendered swallowtail, and is adorned with wan symbols (Buddhist swastikas), a symbol that actually predates Buddhism and originally represented the revolving sun or life. In Buddhism it represents represents the Heart of the Buddha, resignation of spirit, and all happiness that humanity desires. The swallowtail shape is echoed in the iron hinges. The swallow is a symbol of beauty and prosperity in Korea. 36w x 21h x 17.5d inches, 91.5 x 53.5 x 44.5 cm. | ||