Scholar's accouterments (Ch'aekkori)

Ch'aekkori paintings include books, bronzes, lacquer, boxes of various kinds, porcelain flower vases and bowls of fruit, writing paraphernalia (rolled scrolls of paper, brushes, inkstones, ink sticks and glass fishbowls, among other objects). There is literary evidence that this subject became a popular status symbol after King Chongjo (r. 1776-1800) placed one behind his desk in the men's quarters of the palace. Ch'aekkori paintings were also popular among ordinary people and always were painted in bright colors as were folk paintings. These five scrolls might once have been mounted on a folding screen.

For a full discussion of Ch'aekkori screens, see Kay E. Black and Edward W. Wagner, "Court style Ch'aekkori," in Hopes and Aspirations: Decorative Paintings of Korea, exh. cat. (San Francisco: Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 1998), 21-35.