Artwork Page for Bowl with White-slip Decorations

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Bowl with White-slip Decorations

백토 분장무늬 사발 [白土粉裝文碗]

1500s–1600s

Korea, Joseon dynasty

(1392–1910)
Medium
glazed stoneware
Credit Line
Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1986.83
Public Domain
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Did You Know?

This type of humble tea bowl was highly praised among Japanese collectors for its imperfect beauty.

Description

This type of wide-mouthed bowl was used every day in Korea, not exclusively for tea drinking. But when it was introduced to Japan around the early 1500s, its imperfect appearance, which evokes the aesthetics of wabi-sabi, caused it to be repurposed as a tea bowl. Korean tea bowls were circulated as a item of foreign luxury among Japanese military elites. Many Korean potters were abducted during the Japanese invasions (1592–98). Some settled there, and ended up leading the development of ceramic industry in Japan.
A wide, earthy ceramic bowl flares at the rim, tapering down to a narrow, notched circular base. A mottled glaze of sandy tan and cloudy grey washes across the exterior, intricately webbed with fine crackle lines. Near the foot, rectangular notches reveal the dark, exposed clay body. The interior rim mirrors the variegated, stony texture of the exterior, blending the vessel's weathered tones into a single organic form.

Bowl with White-slip Decorations

1500s–1600s

Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)

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