Bottle

Maker Unidentified artist

DateKoryo Dynasty (918-1392); 11th century

MediumCeladon-glazed stoneware with underglaze iron

DimensionsHeight: 4 inches (10.2 cm)

CultureKorean

ClassificationsCeramics

Credit LineGift of Colonel John R. Fox

Terms

Ceramics
Stoneware
greenish olive glaze
Korean

Object number65.241

Label CopyBRIEF DESCRIPTION This small bottle was once used to hold oil. WHERE WAS IT MADE? This bottle was made in Korea during the Goryeo period. HOW WAS IT MADE? This bottle was made on a potter’s wheel; the horizontal striations on the exterior of the bottle are evidence of the process used to form the vessel on a spinning wheel. The leafy design on the bottle was painted on with an iron-rich slip. Once it dried, another glaze was applied to the entire bottle. This glaze also contained iron oxide in a much smaller concentration, and would turn green or brown when the vessel was 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? Bottles like this one were used to hold oil that upper class women used in their hair. WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THIS? The shape of this particular bottle is slightly unusual for its type. The small mouth of the bottle would allow small amounts of oil to be poured out at a time. The wide, squat shape made the vessel more stable, to avoid tipping. Natural designs were the primary motifs used in Goryeo ceramics.

Collections