The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 18, 2026

A muted grayish-green stoneware vessel features a flattened, oval body topped by a short, flared neck. A bold peony blossom and sweeping foliage are scraped into the clay, their incised lines catching shadows. Radiating grooves encircle the neck like a crown. Scattered dark specks and glaze variations texture the surface, which tapers to a narrow, unglazed foot. These organic patterns swirl rhythmically, giving the heavy form a sense of movement.

Wine Flask with Incised and Sgraffito Peony Design

1500s

Korea, Joseon dynasty

(1392–1910)
stoneware with incised design (Buncheong ware)
Overall: 22.6 cm (8 7/8 in.)
Gift of John L. Severance 1921.649
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The term buncheong, which refers to this type of pottery, means "powdered gray-green glazed ceramics.”

Description

Produced in both central and provincial kilns during during the 1400s–1500s, buncheong (literally means "powdered green"), like this wine flask commonly feature gray-green glaze due to the usage of less processed and refined clay high in iron. Many experimental techniques such as white slip, inlay, stamping, and incising, which had been explored and perfected in the Goryeo period, were also adopted for buncheong pottery. The artist for this work extensively used the incising technique to draw both floral and abstract patterns.
  • ?–1921
    (Dr. Alfred Irving Ludlow [1875–1961], Cleveland, OH, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1921–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Park, Kyung-ja and Park Hyeong-soon. “Evolution of the Buncheong Wares in the Early Joseon Period as the White Porcelain Takes over the Taxation Supply [조선 전기 공납용 백자제작에 따른 분청사기 양식변화].” Misul sahak (2010): 291–321. www.dbpia.co.kr
    Lee, So-young, and Seung-chang Jeon. Korean Buncheong Ceramics from the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011.
    Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2014.
    Buncheong Ware [분청사기]. Seoul: Ehwa Woman’s University Museum, 2019.
    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. 83
  • Korean Pottery, a Few Textiles, and Paintings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 31-October 3, 1921).
  • {{cite web|title=Wine Flask with Incised and Sgraffito Peony Design|url=false|author=|year=1500s|access-date=18 June 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1921.649