Bowl

Historical period(s)
Goryeo period, first half of 14th century
Medium
Stoneware with white and black inlays under celadon glaze
Dimensions
H x W: 6 x 19.4 cm (2 3/8 x 7 5/8 in)
Geography
Korea, Jeollanam-do province, Gangjin county, Gangjin kilns
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1909.322
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bowl

Keywords
black inlay, chrysanthemum, Goryeo period (918 - 1392), green glaze, Korea, lotus, phoenix, stoneware, white inlay
Provenance

To 1909Yamanaka & Company, to 1909 [1]From 1909 to 1919Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1909 [2]From 1920Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]Notes:[1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Pottery List, L. 1992, 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)

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

Label

The decoration of this bowl epitomizes the intricacy of inlaid slip decoration on celadon wares of the 14th century. This technique, unique to Korean celadon, depends upon the contrast of white and dark clay-based pigments, which fill incised patterns on the gray clay body of the vessel. This bowl has inlaid decoration on both the interior and exterior surfaces, with the exterior showing "reverse-inlay" where the background areas of the design are inlaid.

Published References

Oriental Ceramics (Toyo Toji Taikan): The World's Great Collections. 12 vols., Tokyo. pl. 242.Ann Yonemura. Korean Art in Western Collections, 5: Korean Art in the Freer Gallery of Art. vol. 4, no. 2 Los Angeles, June 1983. pp. 4-15, pl. 7.Robert L. Hobson, Edward S. Morse, Rose Sickler Williams. Chinese, Corean, and Japanese Potteries: Descriptive Catalogue of the Loan Exhibition. Exh. cat. New York, March 2-21, 1914. cat. 110, p. 101.Korean Art in the Freer and Sackler Galleries. Washington, D.C. no. 6.37, p. 126.Garrett Chatfield Pier. Some Examples of Sung Pottery Recently on Exhibition in New York. vol. 2, no. 3 New York, April 1914. p. 233, fig. 13.

Collection Area(s)
Korean Art
Web Resources
Korean Ceramics
Google Cultural Institute
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