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Covered box with inlaid design of paired cranes

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At A Glance

Period

late 12th-13th century
Geography

Gangjin or Buan kilns, Jeolla-do province, Korea
Material

Stoneware with black and white inlays under celadon glaze
Dimension

H x W x D: 3.2 x 4.5 x 4.5 cm (1 1/4 x 1 3/4 x 1 3/4 in)
Accession Number

F1991.82a-b
EDAN ID

edanmdm:fsg_F1991.82a-b

Object Details

Description

Small round box. Straight-sided body with flat base. Lid with flat top, rounded shoulders and straight sides. Lid fits over interior flange of body.

Clay: Light grey stoneware. Interior flange of body and rim of lid chipped in numerous places.

Glaze: Olive green transparent glaze applied over white and black inlays in decorative patterns on the lid and sides of the box, and on interior of lid and body and base. Glaze has crawled on part of body and is crazed throughout. Fine grains of sand embedded in glazed foot.

Decoration: In the center of the lid, two cranes fly toward one another in near mirror image, wings extended and necks bent to the left, with white bodies and black eyes, beaks, tail tips, and legs, framed by a white circle. Around the upper edge of the lid is a border of white inlay dots framed by concentric white circles. The edges of the lid and body are decorated with stylized key fret pattern borders.
Label

This box probably belonged to a set of similar containers that fit into a larger round box or rectangular casket and held women's toiletry items. It bears an auspicious motif of cranes and clouds.
Provenance

From 1947-1950 to 1991

Mr. Rolf R. Jacoby (died 1989) and Mrs. Maureen R. Jacoby (died 2002), Centreville, MD and Washington, DC, acquired by Rolf R. Jacoby in Korea between 1947-1950 [1]

From 1991

Freer Gallery of Art, given by Mrs. Maureen R. Jacoby in 1991 [2]

Notes:

[1] "This object, along with the others given with it, was acquired by Rolf Jacoby, the donor's late husband, in Korea between 1947 and 1950, while he served as a diplomat" (according to a note by Kate Theimer, November 28, 1995, in the object record).

[2] See note 1.
Collection

Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History

Cranes and Clouds: The Korean Art of Ceramic Inlay (November 5, 2011 to January 3, 2016)

Korean Ceramics (February 4, 1997 to August 7, 2011)

Korean Ceramics of the Koryo Dynasty (May 9, 1993 to August 7, 2011)
Previous custodian or owner

Mr. Rolf R. Jacoby and Mrs. Maureen R. Jacoby

Mrs. Maureen R. Jacoby (1927– 2002)
Origin

Gangjin or Buan kilns, Jeolla-do province, Korea
Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. Maureen R. Jacoby in memory of Rolf Jacoby
Type

Container
Restrictions and Rights

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