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A blue-green vessel with a wide bowl-like opening and rounded body.

An unadorned cuspidor is formed from two simple shapes. The wide bowl shape at top is separated by a thin ridge from the slightly flattened ball shape of the body. This is supported by a short base that flares outward. The outside is glazed in a glossy pale gray-green, with grainy blue speckles that collect along the line where shapes join. The blue staining is more prominent on the inside surface, and a thin dark blue-green line traces a border drawn just below the inner rim.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1989.23
Title
Cuspidor
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
first half 12th century
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, Korea
Period
Koryŏ dynasty, 918-1392
Culture
Korean
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/200762

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Celadon ware: light gray stoneware with celadon glaze
Technique
Celadon
Dimensions
H. 12.9 x Diam. 19.7 cm (5 1/16 x 7 3/4 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Christie's, New York, 20 April 1989, lot #301] sold; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1989.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Ernest B. and Helen Pratt Dane Fund for Asian Art
Accession Year
1989
Object Number
1989.23
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Publication History

  • "Acquisitions", Director's Report (Harvard University Art Museums) (1988/1989), 36-44, p. 39.
  • Christian Boehm, Korean Celadon and Buncheong Ware in the Harvard Art Museums, Arts of Asia (Hong Kong, Autumn 2023), pp. 106-, pp. 106-107, fig. 2

Exhibition History

  • Masterworks of East Asian Painting, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 11/03/1995 - 06/09/1996
  • Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, and Bamboo: Botanical Motifs and Symbols in East Asian Painting, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 07/06/2002 - 01/05/2003
  • Rocks, Mountains, Landscapes and Gardens: The Essence of East Asian Painting ('04), Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 01/31/2004 - 08/01/2004
  • A Compelling Legacy: Masterworks of East Asian Painting, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 08/24/2004 - 03/20/2005
  • Forging the New: East Asian Painting in the Twentieth Century, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/03/2005 - 10/16/2005
  • Re-View: S228-230 Arts of Asia, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/31/2008 - 06/01/2013

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu