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Bottle with Plant Decoration
Bottle with Plant Decoration
Bottle with Plant Decoration

Bottle with Plant Decoration

DateLate 15th - early 16th century
MediumGlazed stoneware (buncheong) with underglaze iron-oxide (jeolwha) decoration
DimensionsHeight: 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Credit LinePurchase, The Paul and Miriam Kirkley Fund for Acquisitions
Object number2004.3
Terms
  • Chosen
Object TypeCeramics
On View
Not on view
This type of Korean stoneware (cheolhwa buncheong) features visually striking iron-oxide designs, bold calligraphic drawing, and strong tonal effects between its dark silhouette-like imagery and pale body. To create these effects, the potter brushed a white slip (liquid clay) over the entire body of the gray stoneware vessel, then applied a design over the slip with iron pigment, which becomes dark brown to lacquer black after firing. This form of buncheong was produced at the foot of the Gyeryong Mountains in southern Korea. Gyeryong kilns are located below a Buddhist monastery, and the distinctive imagery found on these wares—including fish and fowl, lotus flowers, and, as here, fanciful flowering plants (possibly ginseng)—may have been inspired by the monochrome ink paintings of Korean Buddhist monks of the Seon (Zen, in Japan) sect.