Celadon Jar with Incised Lotus and Scroll Design

This is a Goryeo-period celadon jar 24.4 cm high, with a mouth diameter of 11.5 cm and a base diameter of 11.5 cm. Nearly spherical in shape, it has three large lotus blossoms arranged both above and below, with the space between them filled densely with elaborate scroll (vine) designs. The rim curls slightly outward at the edge, and the jar has a short neck, a rounded, bulging body, and a flat base with no foot. The outlines of the designs are rendered boldly in bannyanggak, a half-relief carving technique, while the details are finely expressed with thin incised lines. Although a form of incising, this bannyanggak technique — in which the area around the outline of a design is cut away broadly so that the pattern stands out in relief — was a lavish decorative device perfected when Goryeo's jade-green (bisaek) celadon reached its highest level of achievement. The bannyanggak designs on this jar are likewise made up of both thick and thin incised lines, and the glaze is a transparent, beautiful jade-green with almost no crackling. As a shape for Goryeo celadon it is very rare for its full, rounded body, being an almost spherical jar, and the lotus and scroll designs carved over its entire surface in the bannyanggak technique are exceptionally beautiful.

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물