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An off-white horizontal bottle on a flat stand with dark, decorative painted-on lines

Shaped like a bullet with a truncated tip, the bottle is a wide horizontal cylinder, narrower on one end, with both flat sides having shallow indentations. A low flat base runs the length of the middle third, and at the top is a small cup-shaped opening with a short ridge around it. It is glazed all over in a creamy white, with streaks of gray showing through. A thin gray line circles either side from top to bottom. In the space between is a quickly brushed on design featuring dark flowing lines with streaks of light brown showing in places, depicting an abstracted floral motif.

Gallery Text

Chosŏn Punch’ŏng

Punch’ŏng ware represents a loose grouping of ceramics defined by inventive shapes and bold or whimsical decoration employing white slip (a mixture of clay and water) and various other techniques. Produced in the late 14th to 16th centuries, punch’ŏng was eclipsed by white porcelain, the favored ceramic type from the 15th century on. Esteemed for centuries by tea practitioners and collectors in Japan, where it inspired many revivals, punch’ŏng ware influenced modern and contemporary potters in Korea and beyond. Punch’ŏng has more recently gained recognition in the west for its often abstract and experimental designs.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1991.590
Title
Drum-Shaped Bottle with Stylzed Floral Design
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
late 15th – early 16th century
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, Korea
Period
Chosŏn dynasty, 1392-1910
Culture
Korean
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/201180

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Punch'ŏng ware with iron-painted decoration over white slip
Technique
Punch'ong
Dimensions
H. 21.7 x W. 29 x Diam. 14.6 cm (8 9/16 x 11 7/16 x 5 3/4 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Gregory (1922-1988) and Maria C. Henderson (1923-2007), Medford, MA (by 1969-1988), inherited; by Maria C. Henderson, Medford, MA (1988-1991), partial gift and partial purchase; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1991.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Partial gift of Maria C. Henderson and partial purchase through the Ernest B. and Helen Pratt Dane Fund for Asian Art
Accession Year
1991
Object Number
1991.590
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Robert P. Griffing, Jr., The Art of the Korean Potter; Silla, Koryô, Yi, exh. cat., Asia Society Museum (New York, NY, 1968), p. 106, no. 89; p. 127, no. 89
  • Gregory Henderson, Korean Ceramics: An Art's Variety, exh. cat., Ohio State University, Divisions of Art Gallery (Columbus, Ohio, 1969), p. 50, no. 102
  • Robert D. Mowry, First Under Heaven: The Henderson Collection of Korean Ceramics, brochure, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1992), n.p.
  • James Cuno, ed., A Decade of Collecting: Recent Acquisitions by the Harvard University Art Museums, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, Mass., Spring 2000), p. 17
  • Christian Boehm, Korean Celadon and Buncheong Ware in the Harvard Art Museums, Arts of Asia (Hong Kong, Autumn 2023), pp. 106-, pp. 118-120, fig. 30

Exhibition History

  • A Decade of Collecting: Asian Acquisitions 1990-1999, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 03/11/2000 - 11/05/2000
  • Cultivating Virtue: Botanical Motifs and Symbols in East Asian Art, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 07/08/2006 - 04/08/2007
  • 32Q: 2600 East Asian, Japanese, Chinese and Korean, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/09/2017 - 12/07/2017

Subjects and Contexts

  • ReFrame

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