A Pair of Chopsticks

918–1392

A Pair of Chopsticks, 918–1392. Korea, Goryeo period (918-1392). Bronze; overall: 26.3 cm (10 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, General Income Fund 1918.495 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. Nowadays Korean still prefer metal chopsticks (stainless steel and brass) to wooden ones.