A small, flat round bottle with a cup shaped opening decorated with white flowers
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

Glazed in a pale blue-green with fine dark speckles, the bottle is a flattened ball shape, wide in the middle and narrowing quickly at the top and bottom. A small cup-like shape at the center of the top surrounds a narrow opening. The bottle is sparsely decorated, with three small, evenly spaced white flowers with dark green stems and leaves appearing around the upper flat side. Some areas, like just below the base of the opening, as well as on the inside rim are shaded in a darker blue green glaze.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1991.554
Title
Small Oil Bottle with Peony
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
second half 12th century
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, Korea
Period
Koryŏ dynasty, 918-1392
Culture
Korean
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/201400

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2600, East Asian Art, East Asian Painting and Decorative Arts
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Stoneware with inlaid decoration under celadon glaze
Technique
Celadon
Dimensions
H. 5.0 x Diam. 8.1 cm (1 15/16 x 3 3/16 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
1991.554
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. 84, no. 49; p. 122, no. 49
  • Gregory Henderson, Korean Ceramics: An Art's Variety, exh. cat., Ohio State University, Divisions of Art Gallery (Columbus, Ohio, 1969), p. 39, no. 66
  • James Cuno, ed., A Decade of Collecting: Recent Acquisitions by the Harvard University Art Museums, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, Mass., Spring 2000), pp. 16-17
  • Christian Boehm, Korean Celadon and Buncheong Ware in the Harvard Art Museums, Arts of Asia (Hong Kong, Autumn 2023), pp. 106-, p. 113, fig. 16

Exhibition History

  • Masterworks of East Asian Painting, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 11/03/1995 - 06/09/1996
  • A Decade of Collecting: Asian Acquisitions 1990-1999, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 03/11/2000 - 11/05/2000
  • 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
  • 32Q: 2600 East Asian, Japanese, Chinese and Korean, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 12/03/2015 - 12/01/2016; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 07/23/2022 - 12/05/2022; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/04/2023 - 06/01/2025; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 12/04/2023 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

  • Collection Highlights
  • Google Art Project

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