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A spherical pitcher, tapered at the top, glazed in a pale green-gray and decorated with a floral motif

A ball-shaped pitcher expands outward from a flat circular base, then tapers to a narrow flat top, with a small circular opening. An upward curving handle is attached at one side, and on the opposite side a slender spout rises from the middle. It is glazed in a pale green-gray, and decorated with a carved, curvilinear design across the entire surface, featuring a flowering lotus at the center. Three smaller lotus buds above the flower echo the shape of the pitcher itself, and both the flower and the buds are highlighted with splashes of white.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1991.559
Title
Lotus-Bud-Shaped Ewer with Lotus Decor
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
13th century
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, Korea
Period
Koryŏ dynasty, 918-1392
Culture
Korean
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/201443

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Carved and slip-painted celadon ware: light gray stoneware with celadon glaze over carved and incised decoration, the carved decoration embellished with painting in white slip
Technique
Celadon
Dimensions
H. 16.2 x Diam. 15.8 cm (6 3/8 x 6 1/4 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
1991.559
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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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. 41, no. 71
  • Edward B. Adams, Korea's Pottery Heritage, Volume II, Seoul International Publishing House (Seoul, Korea, 1989), p. 58, pl. 65; p. 127, no. 65

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