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A light green pitcher with a slender handle and a tall spout

Glazed in a pale green, the bottle has a circular base that widens toward the middle and narrows again to a flattened top with a small ridge around a narrow opening. Aon one side a slender handle curves upward, and on the opposite side, a tall narrow spout extends upward from the middle. The body has broad vertical segments like a melon and each segment is decorated in flowing lines of a slightly darker green, that depict lotus sprays. The opening at the top is ringed with a pattern of lightly carved lotus leaves, as is the base.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1991.550
Title
Segmented Melon-Shaped Ewer with Decoration of Lotus Sprays
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
first half 12th century
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, Korea
Period
Koryŏ dynasty, 918-1392
Culture
Korean
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/201381

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Incised celadon ware: light gray stoneware with celadon glaze over incised decoration. Reportedly recovered in Kaesŏng, Kyŏnggi province.
Technique
Celadon
Dimensions
H. 20 x Diam. 15.3 cm (7 7/8 x 6 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Gregory (1922-1988) and Maria C. Henderson (1923-2007), Medford, MA (by 1969-1988), inherited; by Maria C. Henderson, Medford, MA (1988-1991), partial gift and partial purchase; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1991.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Partial gift of Maria C. Henderson and partial purchase through the Ernest B. and Helen Pratt Dane Fund for Asian Art
Accession Year
1991
Object Number
1991.550
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Publication History

  • Gregory Henderson, Korean Ceramics: An Art's Variety, exh. cat., Ohio State University, Divisions of Art Gallery (Columbus, Ohio, 1969), p. 38, no. 62
  • Christian Boehm, Korean Celadon and Buncheong Ware in the Harvard Art Museums, Arts of Asia (Hong Kong, Autumn 2023), pp. 106-, pp. 108, 111, fig. 10

Exhibition History

  • A Decade of Collecting: Asian Acquisitions 1990-1999, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 03/11/2000 - 11/05/2000
  • Rocks, Mountains, Landscapes and Gardens: The Essence of East Asian Painting ('04), Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 01/31/2004 - 08/01/2004
  • A Compelling Legacy: Masterworks of East Asian Painting, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 08/24/2004 - 03/20/2005
  • Forging the New: East Asian Painting in the Twentieth Century, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/03/2005 - 10/16/2005

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu