Buncheong Basin-shaped Memorial Tablet with Inlaid Fish Design and Inscription of "the Fifth Jeongtong Year"

The Buncheong Basin-shaped Memorial Tablet with Inlaid Fish Design and Inscription of "the Fifth Jeongtong Year" is an example of buncheong ware, a grey stoneware coated with white slip and decorated with inlay, stamping or other techniques, whose origins lie in the celadon of the declining years of late Goryeo. It belongs to a type of porcelain produced over roughly 200 years, from the early Joseon period until just before the Japanese invasions of 1592. The vessel is 9.4 cm high, with a mouth diameter of 35.8 cm and a base diameter of 13 cm. Its rim curves slightly upward at the edge, and on the interior base a double circle is drawn, within which a white flower design is rendered in the inlay technique. Three branching lines naturally divide the broad, flat base into three sections, and in each a single fish is inlaid, all swimming in the same direction. The outline and scales of the fish are shown in white, with only the eyes shown in black. The glaze is close to blue-green in colour. This vessel is a piece of buncheong ware that doubles as a myoji, a tablet recording the life of the deceased that was buried beside the tomb. An inscription on its rim reveals that it was made in 1440, the 22nd year of King Sejong, making it an important historical source.

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물