Buncheong Barrel-shaped Vessel with Sgraffito Peony Design

A janggun is a type of vessel used to hold water, alcohol, soy sauce or urine; smaller examples held water or alcohol, while larger ones were used to carry urine on an A-frame carrier. This is a relatively large janggun, measuring 34.5 cm in length, 15.4 cm in diameter at the side, and 5.3 cm at the mouth. The body is long and oval, rounded on one side and flat on the other. A small mouth, now considerably damaged, is set at the centre of the upper surface. The entire surface was evenly coated with a thick white slip, then decorated using an incised-line technique to render linear designs, together with the bakji technique, in which the background around a design is scraped away to leave only the pattern itself. Around the mouth, a single large petal design is set within a rectangle on either side. On the rounded side, a petal design is placed within a circle, surrounded by a band of lotus-petal motifs. On the flat side, a band of leaf motifs runs around the vessel. At the centre of the body, peony leaves and flowers form the decoration, and two wavy lines are incised on the base. On the side bearing the peony-leaf design the glaze has melted evenly and well, but on the opposite side the glaze has not melted properly and remains opaque. This janggun, whose vigorous incised and sgraffito decoration suits its dignified form, is a masterpiece of the type and is thought to date from the early Joseon period.

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물