Bowl with Flowering Vines Design in Relief

청자 양각 꽃넝쿨무늬 사발 [靑磁陽刻花唐草文碗]

1100s–1200s

Korea, Goryeo dynasty

(918–1392)

Medium

celadon ware

Measurements

Diameter of mouth: 10.9 cm (4 5/16 in.); Overall: 7.6 cm (3 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of John L. Severance 1928.175

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

This type of celadon bowl was modeled after Ru ware of northern China. Xu Jing (1091–1153), the Chinese official who visited Korea in 1123, called the Korean celadon ware as the “new kiln ware of Ru-zhou.”

Description

As early as the 600s, 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 image of flowering vines in relief on the inner wall of this tea bowl must have made the moment of drinking tea more enjoyable.