개항기 서양인들이 수집한 조선 연초합의 재질별 위계와 수집의 계층성 = Material Hierarchies and Social Stratification: A Study of Korean Tobacco Boxes and Global Collecting Practices (1876–1910)

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study examines the material hierarchies embedded in Korean tobacco boxes collected by Western diplomats, missionaries, military officers, and travelers during the Open-Port Period (1876–1910). While previous scholarship has focused primarily on silver-inlaid iron tobacco boxes, .this research provides a comprehensive analysis of surviving examples by examining overseas museum collections. Based on a comprehensive survey of 45 tobacco boxes housed in 12 institutions across Europe and North America, this study reveals that the materiality of these objects was intrinsically linked to social stratification and accessibility in late Joseon Korea.
By correlating material types with acquisition routes and collector profiles, this study demonstrates that tobacco boxes were not simply utilitarian objects but a stratified material culture shaped by distinct production and circulation systems. Stone boxes embodied royal authority; silver-inlaid iron boxes represented urban craft commodities; and later variants marked the transition toward mass-produced alternatives. By integrating archived documents with overseas collection data, this research highlights materiality as a key determinant of social identity and offers a new framework for understanding the hierarchical structure of Joseon craft culture and its entanglement with global collecting practices.