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Six-lobed wine cup and stand

Maker Unidentified artist

MediumStoneware with celadon glaze

Dimensions22 × 3 9/16 inches (55.9 × 9 cm)

CultureKorean

ClassificationsCeramics

Credit LineGeorge and Mary Rockwell Collection

Terms

Ceramics
Stoneware
Vessels - Cups
Vessels - Stands
Stoneware with celadon glaze
Korean

Object number88.002.111 a,b

Label CopyBRIEF DESCRIPTION This is a ceramic cup and stand set from the Goryeo period. It has a clean, undecorated surface and beautiful glazing. WHERE WAS IT MADE? This cup and stand set was made in Korea during the Goryeo period. HOW WAS IT MADE? Both the cup and the stand were made with the aid of a potter’s wheel. The potter’s wheel was brought to Korea from China during the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) and by and large replaced the earlier hand-building techniques for making vessels. The green glaze on this cup and stand is known in the west as celadon. The glaze contains iron oxides, which turn green when the vessel is fired in a reducing atmosphere. This technique came to Korea from China, along with a new kind of kiln construction. Goryeo ceramics were fired in long kilns (up to 60 feet long and four feet wide) built into the hillsides so that they climbed upwards. The insides of the kilns were lined with clay, and wood was used as the primary fuel for the fire. The kilns were supervised by government officials, and most of the ceramics were made for members of the government and other aristocratic families. Potters did not enjoy high social status, nor were they regarded as artists in the way that painters were. HOW WAS IT USED? This cup and stand is a nice example of a common Goryeo ceramic type. The cup was used for drinking wine. To see another example of a Goryeo cup in the Johnson Museum’s collection, search for object number 67.288 in the keyword search box. WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THIS? Notice the faint lobes of the cup; does this remind you of any natural form?

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