Rare Korean Gangwon Do Bandaji Chest Joseon Dynasty

An antique Korean wood Bandaji circa 19th century from the late Joseon Dynasty. Rarely available, this Bandaji was from Gangwon Do, a historical mountainous province on the east side of the Korean peninsula that has since been split between North and South Korea. Relatively remote and less densely populated, the Bandaji chest from Gangwon Do has a unique construction that set apart from the rest of the country. The front panel including the flap door is completely encased within the top, bottom and two side panels, giving it a more boxed-in appearance. No other places in Korea produced Bandaji in this form. Due to the remoteness, not many Gangwon Do Bandaji survived and became available on the antique market, making it more desirable for serious collectors of Antique Korean furniture.
The Bandaji on offer was made of solid pine plank, stained dark. The black iron hardware is thin and not superfluously ornate, but they do cover a large portion of the facade. There are large swallow tail lock plate and two swallow tail hinge plates flanking a central gourd shape plate. On the lower part, there are three diamond-shape belly plates and many small rosette roundels along the side borders of the upper part. There are corner cover plates, as well as L hinges to reinforce the sides, where prominent finger joins are exposed. The interior of the chest is unlined and there is a built-in shelf on the top interior. Par traditional construction, there might have been three partition drawers at some point of its life. There is no lock.
For two Gangwon Do Bandaji, see item Sinsu14127 in the collection of National Museum of Korea and 017071 in National Folk Museum of Korea, both in Seoul.