The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Bowl with Inlaid Waterfowl, Willow, and Reed Design

1300s

Korea, Goryeo dynasty

(918–1392)
celadon with inlaid design
Diameter of mouth: 19.7 cm (7 3/4 in.); Overall: 9.1 cm (3 9/16 in.)
Gift of John L. Severance 1918.458
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This bowl with a lightly bent inward rim possibly takes the shape of an alms bowl by Buddhist monks.

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 inlaid image of ducks under willow trees on the inner wall of this tea bowl may have made the moment of drinking tea much enjoyable.
  • Purchased by Langdon Warner [1881–1955] in Korea for the Worcester Warner Collection
    ?–1918
    John L. Severance [1863–1936], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1918–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Yi, Jong-min. "The New Trends on the latter 14th Century's Inlaid Celadon of Koryŏ Dynasty [14世紀後半高麗象嵌靑磁의新傾向]." Misulsahak yeongu 201 (March 1994): 5-40. www.dbpia.co.kr
    Goryeo Dynasty: Korea's Age of Enlightenment, 918-1392. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2003.
    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
    Jang, Nam-won. "The Tea and Celadons during the Goryeo Dynasty : Considering the Celadon Tea Utensils [고려시대 茶文化와 靑瓷]." Misulsa nondan (June 2007): 129-162. www.dbpia.co.kr
    Goryeo: The Glory of Korea [대고려, 그 찬란한 도전]. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2018.
    Sparkles of Jade: Goryeo Celadon [高麗青磁 : ヒスイのきらめき]. Ōsaka: Ōsaka: Shiritsu Tōyō Tōji Bijutsukan, 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. 73
  • {{cite web|title=Bowl with Inlaid Waterfowl, Willow, and Reed Design|url=false|author=|year=1300s|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1918.458