The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 26, 2024

Water Ewer for Rituals (Kundika)

Water Ewer for Rituals (Kundika)

1100s
Location: 236 Korean

Did You Know?

This distinctively shaped vessel is called a kundika in Sanskrit, simply referring to a water bottle.

Description

Known as kundika in Sanskrit, this distinctively shaped vessel served to purify a sacred space and to invoke a deity. In Korean Buddhist art, it appears primarily as an attribute of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Gwaneum in Korean). By the 1100s, however, the kundika was used as aristocrats’ fancy water container for everyday use.
  • Choi, Eung-chon. “Craftsmen in Metal Arts in the Goryeo Dynasty [고려시대 金屬工藝의 匠人].” Misulsahak yeongu (2004): 171-192. www.dbpia.co.kr
    Cunningham, Michael R. "Notable Acquisitions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 78, no. 3 (1991): 63-147. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 133 www.jstor.org
    Goryeo Dynasty: Korea's Age of Enlightenment, 918-1392. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2003.
    The spirit of Goryeo in metalcrafts [금속 공예 에 깃든 고려인 의 삶]. Seoul: Jeju National Museum and National Cheongju Museum, 2011.
    Bronze in Life and Art [삶과 예술 속. 청동 靑銅 이야기] National Cheongju Museum (2016).
    Goryeo: The Glory of Korea [대고려, 그 찬란한 도전]. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2018.
    Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, and 국외소재문화재재단. The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Edited by An Min-hŭi. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 122, no. 88
  • Object in Focus: Kundika. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 15-September 14, 2003).
    Notable Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 15, 1991).
  • {{cite web|title=Water Ewer for Rituals (Kundika)|url=false|author=|year=1100s|access-date=26 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1991.58