Item specification

Item name:   Four Gracious Plants  mini folding screen  mother of pearl(S size)

The Four Gracious Plants are one of most popular themes in traditional Korean painting. They are not simply decorative wall paintings but also symbolize a way of life. People hang these paintings in their studies or living rooms to see them all the time and cultivate their minds.
The project Four Gracious Plants will be created by altering abstract images from traditional paintings in order to suggest the passing of time and the seasons. Moreover, if it is installed in a living room or library, the painting will be physically connected to a table so that the user can interact with it.

About "The Four Gracious Plants" - plum, orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo
The Four Gracious Plants, alternately called the Four Gentlemanly Plants, or the Four Seasons symbols, consist of plum blossoms, orchids or wild orchids, chrysanthemums, and bamboo. They were originally Confucian symbols for the four qualities of a learned man, but are now more commonly associated with the four seasons. They are plum blossoms which represented courage, the orchid stood for refinement, the chrysanthemum was a sign of a productive, and fruitful life, and bamboo represented integrity. In modern times, the four have come to be associated with the seasons as well; plums blossoms bravely bloom in the cold of an early spring, orchids disseminate a dim fragrance far in the heat of summer, chrysanthemums overcome the first cold of a late fall and bloom, and bamboo bares its green leaves even in the winter.
(reference : wikipedia)

Lacquer wares inlaid with Mother of pearl 

Najeon Chilgi, the wooden lacquerware inlaid with Mother-of-Pearl, is truly a cultural asset of Korea.

The art of Najeon Chilgi is used to make items from jewelry boxes to chests, dressers and desks.

The two main materials used in making Najeon Chilgi are the lacquer coating and mother-of-pearl.

Korean mother-of-pearl made from the shining, unchangeable beauty of pearl oyster or abalone, is considered to be the jewel of the Orient.

Traditional technique is a complicated and painstaking process consisting of more than twenty steps.

The manufacturing can be roughly divided into several processes; pasting hemp cloth on the surface

of the wooden frame; coating the surface with natural lacquer; spraying powdered ox bone on the surface;

inlaying the patterned mother-of-pearl on the pitch black background; and then repetition of lacquering

and polishing. It takes 3~6 months to complete a product.

The art of Najeon Chilgi dates back to the Nakrang period.

According to research, Najeon Chilgi already prevailed in the period of Shilla(7~10AD).

Then the government operated a workshop system to make Najeon Chilgi products in the reign of

King Munjong in Koryo(11AD). The Najeon Chilgi made there were presented to foreign Kings and envoys.

Art pieces of Najeon Chilgi are kept in museums of Japan, Germany, U.S.A, England, Netherlands and

many other countries all over the world. The varnishing with lacquer is the strongest among varnishes,

which makes life of these pieces permanent.