Arts & Crafts style Architectural ornament - 1850-1870 - Tempered door panel Korea

Korean hand-carved temple door panel – deep relief – 19th century, ca. 1850–1870 – 90 cm

Special Korean architectural wooden door panel from the 19th century, richly and entirely hand-carved in deep relief.

The elongated panel is composed of two large symmetrical floral compositions, combined with geometric bands and strong corner and cross motifs. The central floral motifs, stylized leaves and tendrils are deeply carved into the wood, giving the panel a distinctly three-dimensional character.

From up close, the old chisel and carving marks are clearly visible. Along the sides there are also marks indicating that the panel was originally mounted as a constructive part of a larger door or frame work.

According to family tradition, the panel comes from a Korean temple door. It belonged to a collection of Asian and Middle Eastern antiquities owned by a collector who resided in Korea, Dubai and Saudi Arabia. The panel was brought from Korea around 1969 and was already in possession as an older decorative object at that time.

On the basis of execution, patina, manual workmanship, construction traces and known provenance the panel is dated to the mid-19th century, circa 1850–1870.

The specific origin from a temple door is based on family tradition and is therefore not presented as a documented fact.

Origin: Korea
Dating: mid-19th century, ca. 1850–1870
Material: solid wood
Technique: fully hand-carved, deep relief
Dimensions: ca. 90 × 27 cm

Provenance: brought from Korea around 1967; subsequently family-owned

Condition: authentic old state with patina, use and mounting marks appropriate to age and original architectural use.

A particularly decorative and characterful example of traditional Korean wood carving, where especially the exceptional depth of the relief and the still clearly visible manual workmanship stand out.