The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Box and Cover with Inlaid Chrysanthemum Design

Box and Cover with Inlaid Chrysanthemum Design

1200s
Diameter: 9.1 cm (3 9/16 in.); Overall: 4.2 cm (1 5/8 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This ceramic container was used to store incense or cosmetics.

Description

Celadons, spoons, seals, and bronze mirrors were the most common burial objects in tombs during the Goryeo period (918-1392). Once used to contain color powder, rouge and eyebrow gel for makeup, this small container was one of the standard goods that furnished elites' tombs. Goryeo-period women and men used the grain powder of rice or millet for whitening their skin, safflower extract for rouge, and plant ash or soot for eyebrow gel. Yet, natural-looking make-up seems to have been the most favorable one in Korea according to the travelogue by Xu Jing (1091-1153), the Chinese diplomat who visited Korea in 1123.
  • Lee, Young-hee. "The Study on Techniques and their Interrelations among Craft Arts of the Goryeo Dynasty [고려시대 공예기법 연구 상호관련성을 중심으로]." Misulsa hakbo 22 (2004): 133-170. www.dbpia.co.kr
    A Chinese traveler in medieval Korea : Xu Jing's illustrated account of the Xuanhe embassy to Koryo. Translated by Sem Vermeersch. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2016.
    Goryeo Dynasty: Korea's Age of Enlightenment, 918-1392. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2003.
    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. 76
  • {{cite web|title=Box and Cover with Inlaid Chrysanthemum Design|url=false|author=|year=1200s|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1918.423