bojagi (wrapping cloth), unknown maker from Korea

Bojagi were used as wrappings for important gifts, such as on the occasion of a wedding, or during Buddhist rituals. The patchwork quality indicates that they were made by commoners, but the intricate stitching demonstrates the maker’s great skill. The tradition of using bojagi dates back to antiquity, but flourished in the Joseon dynasty.

Joseon Korea was a highly stratified society. The group of social elites known as yangban (양반/兩班) were composed of both civil servants and military officers. The yangban embodied the Korean Confucian ideal of the scholarly official. Although in theory anyone who passed the civil service exams could attain the rank of yangban, in reality the considerable financial resources required to afford years of study to pass the exams limited yangban status to
families with considerable wealth. The chungjin (중인/中人), literally the “middle people,” were skilled workers who served the upper elite. Roughly 75% of Joseon Korea subjects consisted of sangmin (상민/常民), or common people, also known as yangmin (양민/良 民). This case highlights material aspects of Joseon society, from the horse-haired hats known as gat (갓) worn by elite men to the patchwork wrapping cloth known as bojagi (보자기) made from remnants of silk by common women.