Chopstick

1000s-1100s

Chopstick, 1000s-1100s. Korea, Goryeo period (918-1392). Bronze; overall: 29.2 cm (11 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Educational Purchase Fund 1924.141.2 In Korea, chopsticks made of metal such as brass, silver, and gold were excavated from ancient tombs and ruins dated to the 6th century at the earliest. Burial goods often include utilitarian objects such as table wares and utensils because the dead were believed to need them in the afterlife. In contrast to the Chinese and Japanese, Koreans still prefer metal chopsticks (stainless steel and brass) to wooden ones.