Bowl with Inlaid Chrysanthemum and Lychee Design Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)

Bowl with Inlaid Chrysanthemum and Lychee Design

청자 상감 국화·여지문 사발 (靑磁象嵌菊花荔枝文大楪)

1300s

Korea, Goryeo dynasty

(918–1392)

pottery

Diameter of mouth: 20.5 cm (8 1/16 in.); Overall: 8.6 cm (3 3/8 in.)

Gift of John L. Severance 1918.459

Location: not on view

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Did You Know?

Kangjin and Buan kilns in Jeolla province were the two major production centers for celadon wares during the Goryeo period (918-1392).

Description

As early as the seventh century, the practice of drinking tea and wine became an important part of elite leisure culture in Korea. A wide bowl like this example was especially suitable for drinking powdered tea shaved from a compressed tea cake, the most commonly enjoyed type during the Goryeo period. The outer wall is lavishly decorated with the inlaid image of flowering vines, the inner wall with the inlaid image of chrysanthemum and lychee. Such elaborate design tells us that tea wares then were aesthetically invested objects of luxury.