Buncheong Flat Bottle with Incised Tree and Bird Design

Made during the Joseon dynasty, this vessel is a buncheong ware (grey stoneware coated with white slip) standing 22.6cm high, with a mouth diameter of 3.8cm and a base diameter of 8.0cm. The two sides of the originally round body were beaten flat to form an oval, flattened surface, and the neck was shaped somewhat narrow. Over the dark, cement-coloured clay body, white slip was brushed on in a sparse, uneven coating, and it was then decorated with various johwamun designs — patterns incised into the white-slipped surface and then scraped away, leaving the design in fine white lines. A band of saw-tooth pattern runs around the shoulder, and both flattened sides carry large, freely drawn abstract floral motifs. On one of the two faces, six vertical lines divide the surface, filled between with irregular circular motifs and further saw-tooth patterns; on the other face, a single bird is shown beneath a tree. The lower part of the body has no white slip, leaving the coarse clay body exposed, and the round foot is slightly warped. Among buncheong wares decorated in the sgraffito (johwamun) technique, this piece is notable for its semi-abstract, freely rendered patterns, and is presumed to date from the early Joseon period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물