Artifacts Excavated from the Tomb of Lady Jeong

Ten pieces of Joseon white porcelain — a flask, dishes, bowls, a cup, an epitaph and others — excavated from the tomb of Lady Jeong of Jinyang, titled Yeongin, at Buksang-myeon, Geochang, South Gyeongsang. She was the mother of Kim Yun, magistrate of Eonyang under King Sejo of Joseon; Jinyang was her place of origin, and Yeongin the title given to the wife of an official of the fourth rank. The flask is 21.7 cm high and 7.7 cm across the base, round in body and flattened front and back. The mouth flares slightly, and the narrow, high foot is unusual. Peonies and scrolls are inlaid in black on the body. An epitaph is a stone buried beside a tomb carved with the name, status and deeds of the dead; this one is 20.4 cm wide and 36.6 cm high. The top is outlined as though covered by a lotus leaf, and at the bottom two diagonal lines are drawn on either side with lotus carved between. It records Lady Jeong's lineage, family and date of death, which shows that she died in 1466 and dates the objects. In form the epitaph is generally the same as the inlaid celadon epitaph dated to the tenth year of Xuande (1435) at Ewha Womans University Museum; the writing and patterns are inlaid in black, and the surface is thinly covered with white porcelain glaze. Judging by their clay, the two pieces are of an unusual type that carries on the line of Goryeo white porcelain, and they were probably made at a white porcelain kiln in Gyeongsang. The cup is pure white porcelain with a handle and its own stand. Cogwheel-shaped handles are rare among early Joseon white porcelain, and it seems to have been made to be buried in the tomb.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

National Treasure · 국보