https://emuseum.cornell.edu/internal/media/dispatcher/71094/fullEwerHeight: 7 inches (17.8 cm)Celadon wareGift of Colonel John R. Fox65.3170Ewer (or tea pot) has high rounded lid with bird finial, and floral decoration on exterior. Celadon blue-green cracked glaze; inlaid decoration in black and white slip. This globular pouring vessel is eight-lobed and has spout, handle, and cover. The handle and cover each has a loophole, used to keep the cover attached with a cord or fibre. The unglazed foot rim has traces of sand and kiln grit in four areas; the shallow base plate is glazed. Each of the eight panels of the ewer is decorated with a lotus spray, with petals in white slip and simplified black leaves. The base of the narrow, cylindrical neck is encircled by a band of overlapping lotus petals, double edged with black inside white. The cover has three lotus sprays done similarly to those on the body. The finial is modeled in the form of a phoenix. Such modeling of natural animal forms on lids and covers is characteristic of many Koryo celadon wares. The spout and handle may have ben redone. The handle, in particular, seems out of proportion and of a different color than the body.Ceramics1822056792Unidentified artistKoreaBRIEF DESCRIPTION
This is an early Korean ceramic vessel once used to hold food or drink.
WHERE WAS IT MADE?
This vessel was made in an area of southeastern Korea once ruled by the Silla kingdom.
HOW WAS IT MADE?
This vessel shows signs of having been made on a potter’s wheel. The potter’s wheel was brought to Korea from China more than 2000 years ago. 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 (ca. 300-668) 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 naturally during high temperature firing, when flying ash settled on and fused to the pot. Pedestal pots and jars, like this one, 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. Notice the wave-like pattern circling the two lower sections on the upper part of this vessel.
To see other pedestal jars in the Johnson Museum’s collection, search for object numbers 65.335, 80.051.003, 86.078.004, 88.021.008, 88.021.010, 97.032.027, and 97.032.029 in the keyword search box.
65.317_Disc8063_80635031