Wood Rice Chest, South Korea

Three wide boards make up the front, and one of them has a crack running across it like a horizon line.

This rice chest comes from South Korea and dates to the 19th century. It is elm wood. Grain chests were a basic piece of Korean household furniture, with a removable front board so the contents could be scooped out. Here the front panel is set into a plain frame on squared legs. An iron lock plate is fixed below the top, and a removable board in the front carries an octagonal iron pull. The wood is a deep honey brown. It is 32 inches long, 14 deep and 29.75 high.

Built for rice, and for some time afterward.