Explaining the use, history of mother-of-pearl
The art of adding mother-of-pearl inlay to lacquerware has been practiced in Korea for more than a thousand years. The Korean term for it is Najeonchilgi, from the words najeon, meaning mother-of-pearl, and chilgi, lacquer. It is a lengthy process that requires skill and patience the artisan builds through years of training. The artisan must prepare the mother-of-pearl shells, cut them into delicate slices or intricate shapes, lacquer to the object to be decorated, apply the shells, add more coats of lacquer and finally sand and polish the object. Even today, artisans prefer using ...
