Najeonchilgi is Korean lacquerware inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Thin pieces of shell, usually abalone, are set into a lacquered surface, usually over a wooden base, and sealed under further coats of lacquer until the shell shines out of a deep black or brown ground. The name joins two words: najeon, the shell inlay, and chilgi, lacquerware.

The technique is believed to have reached Korea from Tang China during the Three Kingdoms period, and it remains one of the slowest of Korean crafts. A single piece can take months, sometimes years.

What it is made of

Three materials do the work.

Wood. Most pieces start as a wooden form: a box, a tray, a table, a chest. The wood gives the object its structure.

Lacquer. The lacquer is ottchil, the sap of the lacquer tree, applied in many thin layers and allowed to cure between coats. It hardens into a tough, water-resistant surface. Ottchil: Korean Lacquer and the Tree It Comes From tells the story of the lacquer itself.

Shell. The mother-of-pearl, called jagae in Korean, is the iridescent inner layer of shells such as abalone, turban shells and pearl oysters. Korean makers historically favored abalone, prized for its greens and blues.

How a piece is made

The process is built in layers. A wooden frame is coated with lacquer, often reinforced with hemp cloth, and then given repeated coats of lacquer that are each left to dry. The shell pieces are cut and laid into the design, and the surface is then ground smooth, lacquered again and polished to a shine.

Cutting the shell is a craft of its own. Two traditional techniques stand out. In jureumjil, the maker uses a fine string saw to cut the shell into fluid curves for flowers, animals and landscapes. In kkeuneumjil, the shell is cut into thin, thread-like strips that are pieced together without a break, used for linear motifs and continuous geometric patterns such as the tortoiseshell design.

Because every layer of lacquer has to cure before the next, the work cannot be rushed. Accounts of the craft describe a single piece taking at least three months and sometimes as long as three years.

The Goryeo golden age

Najeonchilgi reached its height during the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392), which is regarded as the craft’s golden age. Goryeo work is known for dense chrysanthemum and vine patterns built from tiny pieces of shell.

Its reputation spread beyond the peninsula. In 1123, the Song Chinese envoy Xu Jing visited Goryeo, and in his illustrated account of the embassy he praised its mother-of-pearl lacquerware as exquisite and precious.

Very little of that work survives. Fewer than two dozen Goryeo pieces are known worldwide, most of them in museums in Japan and the United States, and only a handful are in Korea. In 2023, a Goryeo mother-of-pearl box decorated with more than 770 small chrysanthemum motifs returned to Korea from Japan, one of the rare examples to come home. Its shell decoration is made of more than 45,000 pieces of mother-of-pearl, each only 1 to 5 millimeters long.

From the palace to the household

During the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910), the style changed. The dense floral patterns of Goryeo gave way to a wider range of motifs: plum blossoms, bamboo, the ten symbols of longevity, landscapes and geometric designs. The technique also moved into everyday objects, including brush stands, dressing tables, chests and wardrobes.

That shift brought najeon into the home. In the early twentieth century, the mother-of-pearl wardrobe, the jagaenong, emerged as the quintessential najeon furniture piece. Between the 1920s and the 1960s it was firmly established as a status symbol in Korean wedding culture, a sign of a newly married couple’s financial footing.

Mother-of-pearl also marked a contrast within the traditional house. The furniture of the women’s quarters often used decorative wood and shell inlay, while the scholar’s room favored plain wood and restraint. Sarangbang: The Korean Scholar’s Study describes that quieter side.

Shell, lacquer and wood

Najeonchilgi is a craft of patience and of layering, and in that it resembles much of Korean woodcraft. The wood is the foundation. The lacquer protects it. The shell catches the light.

There is a lesson in how the pieces were treated, too. The layers of lacquer protect the wood beneath them, and a well-made box or chest was meant to be kept. Like the joinery described in Why Korean Furniture Uses No Nails, the craft assumed that the object would be kept.

The craft today

Najeon is still practiced in Korea, both in the traditional manner and in contemporary forms. Its masters include holders of National Intangible Cultural Heritage status, and contemporary makers carry the technique onto new forms, from small boxes to furniture.

Seen up close, a good piece still does what it did in the Goryeo court. As you move, the shell changes color, from pale silver to green to violet, and the dark lacquer around it holds steady. It is a craft that turns the inside of a shell into something to keep.

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