White Porcelain Jar with Cloud and Bamboo Design in Underglaze Iron

This jar, made during the Joseon period, stands 33.2 cm high, with a mouth diameter of 16.8 cm and a base diameter of 15.2 cm; there is a join mark at the swollen central part of the body. The mouth forms a small angled rim, and since its circumference is greater than that of the lower body, the jar can be identified as a mid-Joseon form. Around the mouth is a band of cloud design made up of ten large clouds, and below it another band formed of ten smaller clouds. On the lower body there is also a cloud design made up of six clouds. In the centre of the body, a bamboo design is painted using an iron-oxide pigment. The glaze is thin but has melted well and is transparent, with a greyish-white tone showing through its surface. Underglaze-iron white porcelain was also produced in the early Joseon period, though few examples survive; after the Japanese invasions of 1592-98, in the early seventeenth century, it was produced in greater numbers as a substitute for the scarce cobalt-blue pigment. This jar is large and imposing in form, and the brushwork of its design is fluent and unhesitating, giving the viewer a sense of refreshing openness. This piece is regarded as a very important example showing the typical style of mid-Joseon underglaze-iron white porcelain.

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물