Vase with Bird and Flower Design

백자 청화 화조문 호 [白磁靑畵花鳥文壺]

late 1800s–early 1900s

Korea, Joseon dynasty

(1392–1910)

Medium

porcelain with underglaze blue

Measurements

Outer diameter: 34.3 cm (13 1/2 in.); Overall: 49.4 cm (19 7/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Yamanaka Shoji in memory of Jiro Yamanaka 1989.117

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Location

236 Korean

Did You Know?

Nineteenth-century Korean blue-and-white porcelains tend to feature broad shoulders and a tall neck.

Description

This vase with broad shoulders and a tall neck represents a typical style of 19th-century blue-and-white porcelain. Unlike earlier examples decorated mainly with literati themes that evoke neo-Confucian moral values—plum blossoms (purity), orchids (grace), bamboo (integrity), and chrysanthemums (loftiness)—porcelain works of the 1800s feature fully bloomed peonies and a pair of playful birds, symbols of wealth and familial harmony.