Martin Lorber, a featured appraiser on the Antiques Roadshow and the founder of Sotheby's Korean Department, said the following in his appraisal of this museum quality eunjangdo, "This piece is remarkably high quality, indicating that it was made for a person of high rank. The rarity of the piece is evident." Beth McKillop, The Victoria & Albert Museum's Asian Department Director of Collections and Keeper has stated that this is a rare and unique piece.  This eunjangdo from 1830-1890 is a set that includes a pair of silver chopsticks, used by royalty to detect if their food is poisoned. The attachment to the chopstick is a cicada, symbolising immortality. Eunjangdo, an ornamental dagger, was worn mostly by women of rank as a chest pendant and a symbol of their social standing. This dagger also served as a tool to save women from personal humiliation or peril, not by attacking an assailant but by killing themselves, under the Confucian moral obligation of medieval Korea 'to remain faithful to one spouse'. Both the sheath and blade handle are made of silver and gold, meticulously decorated with fascinating designs. What we see on the front is a shangri-la kind of theme, the pine trees and the gold cranes symbolize longevity, and the gold deer symbolize wealth and prosperity. The area below the crane is stylized rockwork. The curly objects with gold wash are clouds. In the past, people believed that when they accumulated enough good deeds in this world, they rode clouds to the sky and became a human Buddha in the next world. Shapes of clouds can also be found on the murals in ancient tombs. On the blade handle we see a gold-washed Moon (the moon's roundness is a symbol of family unity and harmony) and snake’s head. The snake is, according to Joseph Campbell, the ultimate symbol of lunar consciousness, because the snake sheds its skin just as the Moon does. The snake is also spherical, symbolizing the infinite. And ultimately, the snake continues to live in the face of adversity, just as the honorable woman could expect to live on after the self-inflicted honorable death of her physical self, according to the teachings of the time. The pattern on the back is a pullocho plant, which symbolizes wishes come true. Attached at the point where the sheath and the blade handle join, we see a chrysanthemum flower, the Korean symbol of a productive, fruitful life. Kum-Boo (also spelled keum-boo or kum-bu) is a Korean decorative appliqué technique in which pure gold foil is fused onto the surface of finished pure silver objects. The origin and historical development of the kum-boo technique is shrouded in mystery.

A weapon to test fidelity and soup March 12, 2007

Where the Swiss had traditional red pocket knives, Koreans from the Joseon dynasty had eunjangdo, a silver knife, which developed into another form of norigae. They are about 10 centimeters (four inches) long, covered in a fancy silver sheath. Records say both men and women carried them as a means of self-defense, although, towards the end of the dynasty they were used more frequently as a fashion statement for the upper class. Men fastened them on their waists, while women used them as large pendants with hand-made trinketry. But due to its delicate features and small size, the eunjangdo was considered to be a female accessory. Eventually it became a symbol of chastity for unmarried women while married women carried it as a symbol of fidelity. Eunjangdo were kept underneath the hanbok top to be drawn if a woman felt that her life was threatened. They became a necessary accessory for all refined ladies to carry, along with a comb and a mirror. Some folklore experts say eunjangdo were not designed for self-defense. They say a woman would use her eunjangdo to stab herself rather than submit to an attacker. ¡°While ordinary knives are usually used to hurt another person, the tip of eunjangdo always pointed toward the woman who carried it,¡± Jeong Jeong-heon, a professor at Changwon College said. The knife was usually inscribed with the Chinese characters ¡°Il Pyeon Dan Sim¡± which means ¡°I am devoted to a single person for my whole life.¡± The tradition of cherishing fidelity is part of Confucian custom, but historians say a series of wars, such as the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592 and the Chinese invasion in 1636, made it necessary for women to carry the knife at all times. Eunjangdo were introduced by the Mongolians during the late Goryeo Dynasty in the 14th century. The beautiful designs made them popular ornaments and mothers would passed them onto their daughters and daughters-in-laws. There was another usage for eunjangdo. It was used as a portable tester by the nobility, to dip into soup served by strangers. If the food was poisoned the knife¡¯s silver would be tarnished. Apparently the rich felt threatened at all times. By Lee Min-a Staff Writer [mina@joongang.co.kr]

This silver dagger was bought by me in Korea in1978. At that time I visited Korea together with my father.  He went on a so called Korean War Veteran visit. We toured Korea and on our way to the The Korean Demilitarized Zone , I noticed the dagger in a small antique shop.  I was struck by its beauty . I didn't know anything about the dagger but bought it. 25 Years later I started to investigate and dicovered its name and the history behind it. A beautifull little silver dagger. For more details see pictures below. If you have any questions please write to:  p.van.oel@gmail.com

Regarding the sizes here we go: lenght of the dagger 14.4 cm / 5.67 inch, lenght of the sheath 9.5 cm / 3.74 inch, lenght of chopsticks 13.7 cm / 5.39 inch, length of the entire eunjangdo when it is closed with de dagger in the sheath 15.3 cm / 6.02 inch.
Weight of the entire eunjangdo: 93 grams / 3.28 ounce, weight of dagger 35 grams / 1.24 ounce, weight of sheath 42 grams / 1.48 ounce, weight of chopsticks 16 grams / 0.56 ounces.