VesselsKorean12th-14th century

Ovoid Bottle with Flat Back, Dish-Shaped Mouth, and Well-Articulated Lip

12th-14th century

Description

This ovoid bottle rises from a flat, circular base; it lacks even a hint of a footring. Above the bottle's shoulder, its walls constrict to form a narrow neck and then expand to form the small, dish-shaped mouth with well-articulated lip. The "back" of the bottle is lightly flattened. The bottle's only embellishments are an incised bowstring line around the shoulder and the delicately defined lip that encloses the dished mouth. The bottle is unglazed. Although made of light to medium gray stoneware, which is visible on the flat base, the bottle's exterior walls appear black due to carbon saturation during firing. While it seems to have been accidental on Korean vessels from the Kaya and Silla periods, carbon saturation is such a regular feature of unglazed stoneware vessels made during the Kory? dynasty that it is likely that such vessels were covered with soot (as opposed to ash) before firing to ensure that the surfaces would blacken when heated.

Classification

Vessels

Technique

Unglazed

Medium

Light gray stoneware with kiln-blackened surface

Culture

Korean

Period

Koryŏ dynasty, 918-1392

Century

12th-14th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Asian Art

Dimensions

H. 16.3 x Diam. 11.6 cm (6 7/16 x 4 3/8 x 4 9/16 in.)

Provenance

[through ?, Korea, mid 1960s]; to Jerry Lee Musslewhite (mid 1960s-2009); to Estate of Jerry Lee Musslewhite (2009-2010), sold; to Harvard Art Museums, 2010. NOTE: Jerry Lee Musslewhite was an employee of the U.S. Department of Defense who worked in the Republic of Korea from 1965 to 1969.