Kinds
Kind · By use
Palace food cover
맛보matbo
Matbo was the Joseon court's term for its paper-backed food covers, the most numerous type of surviving palace bojagi.
- Meaning
- 'taste cloth', i.e. food cover (맛 food or taste + 보)
- Made of
- 주, 저포; oiled paper
- Era
- late Joseon
Court term for a food cover in 보발기 records. Made in sizes of 1-4 폭, including half widths, as single, lined (겹맛보) or quilted (누비맛보), with oiled paper inside.
In museum collections
History & tradition
Joseon court; records late 19th–early 20th c.
맛보 is the court's own term, found in the 보발기 inventories. It was the largest group in the 1981 palace survey: 44 of 133 cloths. They were made from 주 silk and 저포 ramie in a set range of sizes, and those meant for royal weddings were ordered in bulk.
The reading of 맛 as 'food/taste' is the obvious Korean sense; no source discussing the etymology was found.
Sources for this entry
이불보ibulbo