Within the Korean peninsula, perhaps the most ancient ottchil artifact is ottchil sculptures from a stone coffin dating back to 4th century BCE, excavated in Namseong-li Village of Asan County, Chungcheongnam-do Province. Numerous tomb artifacts excav...
Within the Korean peninsula, perhaps the most ancient ottchil artifact is ottchil sculptures from a stone coffin dating back to 4th century BCE, excavated in Namseong-li Village of Asan County, Chungcheongnam-do Province. Numerous tomb artifacts excavated in Changwon’s Daho-ri Village, Gobum County, are estimated to extend back to 1st century BCE. The excavation of the royal tomb of King Mu-nyeong of Baekje Dynasty produced
ottchil headrest, footrest, and coffin, as part of the king and queen’s burial objects. Turtle shell and flower metallic designs covering black and red wood-based ottchil craft and gold-overlaid sculpture of a phoenix exemplifythe excellence of Baekje Dynasty’s ottchil craftsmanship. Numerous and eclectic fragments of ottchil craft excavated at Geumnyeong, Geumgwan, Cheonma, and other major burial sites of Silla era provide glimpses of bloom of ottchil craft during that era. From the site of Anapji royal auxiliary palace of Unified Silla were discovered over 30,000 of whole artifacts and fragments, many of which included ottchil artifacts. These fragments included remnants of what may have been mother-of-pearl inlay ("najeon") ottchil ware. Rather, the remnants exemplified ‘even-out’technique, in which ottchil coats were applied over a surface bearing silver ornamentation to level the surface for a smooth finish. With obvious differencesin the materials used in the ottchil craft, najeon ottchil craft was not found at the Anapji site. However, najeon ottchil craft attributed to the 8th century was discovered at a burial mound of Gaya Confederacy. At the same time, however, excellence and bloom of Goryeo najeon ottchil can be surmised by examining historical records such as Goryeo King Mun-jong’s presenting of najeon ottchil ware as gifts to the royal palace of China’s Liao Dynasty in the 11th century and travelogues of Xujing, emissary during Song Dynasty, extolling the art craft, and by examining ample holdings of Goryeo najeon ottchil ware in museums in the United States, Japan, and other countries. The 11th century gave birth to a new form of ottchil art, using idiosyncratic technique and materials, that we know as Goryeo najeon ottchil ware. The 14th century gave rise to the Joseon Dynasty and a new field of arts and crafts that distinctly contrasted with those of the Goryeo era. Differences of najeon ottchil ware between the two eras were obvious however, techniques and designs of the Goryeo era underwent succession, adaptation, and
evolution into a new genre of najeon ottchil, befitting the social culture of Joseon Dynasty. For thousands of years, ottchil art culture has been evolving in various countries under distinct cultural idiosyncrasies, and in Korea, it evolved into a unique art culture renowned as najeon ottchil ware. In China, their lacquerware evolved into ‘engraving’while in Japan, it became ‘floral design’ lacquerware. Undoubtedly, Korean najeon ottchil craft is unique and contrasts strongly with crafts from other countries. In this research, evolution of techniquesand designs of Joseon najeon ottchil ware was studied by analyzing artifacts, and, at the same, this research investigatedhow Joseon najeon ottchil culture, which was more ahead its time than those of Japan, nfluenced the seminal stages of Japanese lacquerware culture. In this research, succession and advancement of
techniquesand designs, in the context of the historical tides of both countries, were explored. Also, in this research, the original form of najeon ottchil transferred to Japan and its subsequent adaptation within the Japanese culture was delineated. Finally, this research served as an important opportunity to reexamine the influence of Joseon najeon ottchil craft upon the historical development of Japanese lacquerware culture.