Cup

DateThree Kingdoms period; Paekche; 5th or 6th century

Place Made DisplayKorea

MediumAsh-glazed stoneware

DimensionsOverall: 2 7/8 × 2 1/4 inches (7.3 × 5.7 cm)

CultureKorean

ClassificationsCeramics

Credit LineGift of William J. and Kathleen A. Cavanaugh

Terms

Ceramics
Stoneware
Stoneware
Korean

Object number93.053.008

Label CopyBRIEF DESCRIPTION This is an early Korean stoneware vessel once used to hold food or drink. WHERE WAS IT MADE? This vessel was made in an area of southern Korea once ruled by the Gaya federation. HOW WAS IT MADE? This vessel was made from fine clay using a potter’s wheel. The potter’s wheel was brought to Korea from China during the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). A closed type of kiln was also introduced from China around the same time. These kilns could reach higher temperatures than the open kilns that Korean potters had used previously. Ashes that accidentally adhered to the surface of the vessel during the firing process were converted to a type of glaze by the high temperatures in the kiln. HOW WAS IT USED? During the Three Kingdoms period (57 BC - AD 668) ceramic vessels such as this one were made for everyday use and for burial in tombs. Large quantities of these vessels have been excavated from tombs, where they were interred after being used during funerary rituals. To supply the deceased in the after-life, vessels were typically filled with food and drink at the time of the burial. This particular vessel was likely used as a cup or jar. WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THIS? Blackish-gray stoneware predominated during the Three Kingdoms period, some with ash glazes that occurred accidentally during high temperature firing, when flying ash settled on and fused to the pot. Pedestal pots, some functioning as cups, were the most common vessel form of the time. They were primarily decorated with pierced geometric forms around the pedestals and incised motifs on the vessel surfaces.

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