Celadon Prunus Vase with Inlaid Grapes and Child Design

This Celadon Prunus Vase with Inlaid Grapes and Child Design is a Goryeo-period inlaid celadon maebyeong (prunus vase) standing 41.5 cm high, with a mouth diameter of 7.5 cm and a base diameter of 15.8 cm, making it an unusually large example among maebyeong vases. Thought to have served as wine vessels, maebyeong display the refinement of Goryeo craftsmanship and were produced very actively during the dynasty's finest period. Compared with maebyeong of that peak period, this piece has a longer foot and a wider mouth, an unrefined clay body, and a foot ring that is not neatly finished, suggesting it was made after the golden age of maebyeong production had passed. The shoulder is inlaid with relatively large floral patterns, and the broad body is filled with grapevine leaves and fruit. All of these are rendered in white inlay; the grapes alone are shown as round motifs stamped like a seal, each inlaid with a single black dot to represent the fruit. The white-clay inlay of the grapevine leaves stands out thickly, producing an unusual raised effect. Around the lower part runs a continuous lightning-pattern band, above which lotus petals are inlaid in white, and a thick, greyish-blue glaze with a faint tinge of green covers the surface. On the whole this piece departs from the classic form of Goryeo maebyeong of the golden age, but the raised white-inlay technique used for the grapevine leaves is noteworthy.

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Where it is

Region

Seongbuk-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물