White Porcelain Moon Jar (2007-2)

White porcelain moon jars are large, usually over 40 cm high, and their round, milky-white form recalls a full moon, hence the name. They were made over about a century from the late seventeenth to the early eighteenth century (especially the fifty years of the early eighteenth) at the branch porcelain works of the Saongwon, the royal kitchen office, at Gwangju, Gyeonggi — the Joseon dynasty's only official kiln — and are thought to have been made mainly at the Geumsa-ri kiln among the 340 or so kilns then scattered across Gwangju. Too large to throw in one piece, they were made in upper and lower halves joined together, which makes both forming and firing very difficult. Their pure white beauty and sense of balance make them a distinctive and representative form of Korean white porcelain without parallel anywhere in the world. This national treasure moon jar is 43.8 cm high and 44 cm across the body. Glaze and clay are excellently fused, and the ratio of mouth to base is ideal, giving it an overall stability. It is not perfectly symmetrical, but its slight twist and distortion do not spoil the form; rather they add variation and vitality.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

National Treasure · 국보