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Korean Rice Chests


I've been doing some research on different  pieces of Korean furniture knowing that hanji was such a big part of what they would use. I came across the article below describing the shape of the Korean rice chest.  I've see these replicated in Hanji pieces and was wondering  about the unusual shape of this piece of furniture.
It use to be a very important part of furniture in a Korean kitchen as the holder of the staple food in their diet. Rice along with kimchi was, and still is, the basis of their three meals a day. The solid rice chest was generally made of pine but never decorated as a reminder of the importance of it's presence in the home.

I've been working on a hanji designed piece. ........ mine is decorated though, as it is much smaller than the original chests and it could be used on a desk or a sideboard to store tea bags or spices.





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