Bowl with molded design of peony

Bowl, broad, ovoidal, with notched rim; six notches; low foot with three spur marks underneath.
Clay: hard, fine, with clear bell tone.
Glaze: soft, luminous gray-green celadon.
Decoration: molded in paste under glaze: peony blossom in bottom, stem extending toward rim, foliage filling sides. Single incised line below rim.

Historical period(s)
Goryeo period, 12th-mid 13th century
Medium
Stoneware with celadon glaze
Dimensions
H x Diam: 6.9 × 19.2 cm (2 11/16 × 7 9/16 in)
Geography
Korea, Jeolla-do province, Gangjin or Buan county, Gangjin kilns, Sadang-ri group, or Buan kilns, Yucheon-ri group
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1900.34
On View Location
Freer Gallery 14: Rediscovering Korea's Past
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bowl

Keywords
Goryeo period (918 - 1392), green glaze, Korea, peony, stoneware
Provenance

To 1900
Yamanaka & Company, to 1900 [1]

From 1900 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1900 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Pottery List, L. 673, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Yamanaka and Co. (C.L. Freer source) 1917 - 1965

Description

Bowl, broad, ovoidal, with notched rim; six notches; low foot with three spur marks underneath.
Clay: hard, fine, with clear bell tone.
Glaze: soft, luminous gray-green celadon.
Decoration: molded in paste under glaze: peony blossom in bottom, stem extending toward rim, foliage filling sides. Single incised line below rim.

Label

The original description of this bowl as Juko celadon by Yamanaka and Company, who sold it to Freer in 1900, is indicative of the vagueness of the use of the term in Meiji-period (1868-1912) Japan, when fascination with Western culture temporarily obscured much traditional lore of the tea ceremony. At the same time, the bowl was correctly identified as being Korean of the Koryo dynasty. Apparently the term Juko celadon was applied to any imported celadon of cursory workmanship, regardless of the country of origin.

Published References
  • Louise Allison Cort. Korean Ceramics in the Freer Gallery of Art. .
  • Sekai toji zenshu [Catalogue of the World's Ceramics]. 19 vols., Tokyo, 1976-1982. cats. 226-227, vol. 19: pp. 191, 204-213.
Collection Area(s)
Korean Art
Web Resources
Korean Ceramics in the Freer Gallery of Art
Google Cultural Institute
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