White Porcelain Flask with Raised Design and Inscription of "Su(壽)"
Wine Flask
1750-1800 (made)
1750-1800 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
White porcelain, made from a mixture of clay and crushed rock fired at a very high temperature, was first produced in Korea in the Koryo dynasty (918–1392). By the time this wine flask was made in the 19th century, such porcelain had come to dominate ceramic production. Plain white wares, with their connotations of purity and honesty, were popular in a culture embedded in Confucian philosophy. However, porcelains painted under the glaze with iron brown, copper red and cobalt blue were also prized.
Around the body of the flask the potter has trailed decoration in slip (clay mixed with water) featuring bats above and below the Chinese character meaning long life. Korean art abounds in symbolism: the character for bat was pronounced in the same way as that meaning good fortune, and thus images of bats came to express a wish for good luck or happiness.
Around the body of the flask the potter has trailed decoration in slip (clay mixed with water) featuring bats above and below the Chinese character meaning long life. Korean art abounds in symbolism: the character for bat was pronounced in the same way as that meaning good fortune, and thus images of bats came to express a wish for good luck or happiness.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | White Porcelain Flask with Raised Design and Inscription of "Su(壽)" (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Porcelain, thrown, slip-trailed, and glazed |
| Brief description | Wine flask, porcelain with slip-trailed decoration under a bluish white glaze, Korea, Choson dynasty, 1750-1800. |
| Physical description | The trailed slip decoration is of bats and the Chinese characters for longevity. An inscription in Hangul script 'kwi yu kon tyo?' is scratched into the glaze on the base, cf C.668-1923. In two places on the body of this white porcelain flask there are pairs of bats carved in relief to form vertical frames surrounding the character "壽"(su), meaning longevity. A clear glaze has been evenly applied to the flask, including the underside of the foot, which is carved with the inscription "Jiyu keundyeon". The flask was made at a kiln in Bunwon-ri, Gwangju, in the late 18th century. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | "壽"
|
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | White porcelain, made from a mixture of clay and crushed rock fired at a very high temperature, was first produced in Korea in the Koryo dynasty (918–1392). By the time this wine flask was made in the 19th century, such porcelain had come to dominate ceramic production. Plain white wares, with their connotations of purity and honesty, were popular in a culture embedded in Confucian philosophy. However, porcelains painted under the glaze with iron brown, copper red and cobalt blue were also prized. Around the body of the flask the potter has trailed decoration in slip (clay mixed with water) featuring bats above and below the Chinese character meaning long life. Korean art abounds in symbolism: the character for bat was pronounced in the same way as that meaning good fortune, and thus images of bats came to express a wish for good luck or happiness. |
| Bibliographic reference | National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage. Daejeon: National Research Institue of Cultural Heritage, 2013, p. 147. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.93-1937 |
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| Record created | February 3, 2000 |
| Record URL |
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