Bottle with Inlaid Peony Design

About the Art

Celadon ceramics were luxurious items during the Korean Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392). Used in the royal court, upper-class homes and Buddhist temples, they served various purposes, including being bottles and cups for wine and tea, incense burners, flower vases and to hold cosmetics.

The distinctive color of celadon depends on the iron content in the clay combined with a glaze that mixes titanium dioxide, potassium oxide and iron oxide. After firing, the transparent glaze allows the grey body underneath to show through, producing the range of blue, green and grey colors.

This bottle features sanggam, a type of decoration invented in Korea in the early 12th century. A design is carved into the vessel, filled with white and red ocher clay, and the excess is scraped off. Next, the vessel is fired at a low temperature, then covered with celadon glaze and fired again at a high temperature. The gold around the lip and loop for a missing lid are a Japanese repair technique and indicate the high regard for Korean celadon in Japan.

FEATURED IMAGE
Artist(s) unknown (Korea, Goryeo dynasty, 918–1392), Bottle with Inlaid Peony Design, 12th century, stoneware with celadon glaze, 15 1/4 x 6 1/4 x 6 1/4 inches (38.7 x 15.9 x 15.9 cm). Gift of Mrs. Virginia W. Kettering, 1976.172