White Porcelain Underglaze Copper Wonhyeongmungako

This is a late Joseon-period copper-painted white porcelain vessel (donghwa baekja), thrown round and then carved on the body to create ten facets, forming a faceted jar (gakho). The rim stands upright, and below it, on the shoulder, runs a band of scrolling arabesque (dangcho) design. The piece as a whole is decorated with copper-red pigment over a dull greyish-white clay body, and the copper produces a clear purplish-red colour. Across the ten facets of the body, four double circular medallions are placed at even intervals, each enclosing a painted bird or plant motif. The copper colouring is good, and the decoration covering the entire body is unusual. The foot is a straight, vertical foot; traces on the contact surface and the base of the foot show that slip was applied and the piece was fired supported on sand. Few examples of late Joseon copper-painted white porcelain survive, and no production site other than the Bangsan-myeon area of Yanggu, in Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, has yet been reported. Although the condition of this piece is somewhat poor, the combination of the scrolling arabesque design on the shoulder with the bird motifs inside the circular medallions is almost unknown elsewhere, giving it high value as a source of information.

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Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산