Photography by casa serico
Lacquer
Daehyeon Son
Najeonchilgi Master Craftsman, Seoul Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 1
Practice
Son Dae-hyun works in najeonchilgi, Korean lacquerwork inlaid with mother-of-pearl. At fifteen, he began training under Min Jong-tae, second-generation successor to Jeon Seong-gyu, recognized as the last master of mother-of-pearl lacquerware under the Joseon dynasty. Through this line, the workshop title of Sugok has passed across three generations, placing Son's practice within a documented lineage rather than an independent claim to the tradition.
In 1999, he was designated Seoul Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 1, the first such holder in lacquer art and the first Master Artisan of Korean mother-of-pearl lacquerware. His work is held in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and has been produced in collaboration with Cartier, Gucci, Vacheron Constantin, and BMW, positioning his practice within the same collectible design and maison ecosystem that defines his European audience's existing frame of reference.
Lineage
1999 | designated Seoul Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 1, Najeonchilgi Master Craftsman. Permanent collection | the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Commissioned works | Cartier, Gucci, Vacheron Constantin, BMW. State gifts presented to Pope Francis, Queen Elizabeth II, and the Emperor of Japan, and to heads of state and spouses at the APEC CEO Summit. Government commissions include official state gifts and seals for the Blue House, Office of the President of the Republic of Korea. Currently lectures at Seoul National University, Chungbuk National University, and Kongju National University, and serves as Adjunct Professor at Pai Chai University.
Atelier
Workshop
Photography by casa serico
Collection
Related works
Lacquer
No. 1
A closed, rounded form finished in a pearlescent white ground, the surface combed in broad sweeping strokes that catch light unevenly across the curve. The silhouette recalls the moon jar without repeating it in porcelain, the reference is held at a distance, not restaged.
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Lacquer
No. 2
Paired with No. 1 in form and finish: the same pearlescent, combed surface and closed silhouette, worked as a companion piece rather than a variation. Presented together, the two argue for repetition as a deliberate register, not a limitation of range.
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Lacquer
No. 3
A sharp departure from the moon-jar pair: an hourglass-profile vase built up in black lacquer and covered edge to edge in shell inlay, the floral scrollwork dense enough to read as texture before it reads as image. Places Son's practice across two registers, restraint and accumulation, within a single body of work.
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Lacquer
No. 4
A bottle form in green lacquer, the body worked in the same shell-inlay technique as No. 3 but set against color rather than black, with a fret-patterned band marking the transition into the neck. Continues the register opened by No. 3 rather than returning to the pearlescent forms.
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