White Porcelain Octagonal Water Dropper with Painting of Eight Scenic Spots of Sosang River in Underglaze Cobalt Blue

This is a relatively large white porcelain water dropper with eight sides. A water dropper is a vessel used to hold the water needed for grinding ink on an inkstone; in the Goryeo period these were mainly made of celadon, and in the Joseon period of white porcelain. On the top of this water dropper, clouds and a dragon are rendered in a highly three-dimensional design, while the eight sides are painted with skilled brushwork depicting the Eight Views of the Sosang River, the eight famous scenic spots where China's Xiao and Xiang rivers meet. In the design on the top, the body of a dragon coils in and out among billowing clouds, expressed with great vitality through the skilful use of various carving techniques. The landscape paintings on the sides do not clearly express the specific subjects of the Eight Views of the Sosang River, but their pictorial qualities, such as tightly organised composition, stand out. On the one side where the spout for pouring water is located, the scene is conveyed not through a painting but through a poem: the subject is identified in the centre as "Dongjeong Chuwol" (Autumn Moon over Lake Dongting), with a line of verse written on each side, depicting this particular scene from among the Eight Views of the Sosang River. This white porcelain water dropper, its designs rendered using blue cobalt-based underglaze pigment, is thought to have been made in the 19th century, a period when ceramic production was exploring new directions through the use of varied techniques. The paintings, notable for their pictorial skill, and the vivid rendering of the design on the top, together form valuable evidence encapsulating the characteristics of water droppers made in the 19th century.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Buk-gu, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Treasure · 보물