Pedestal Bowl
Culture
Korean
Date400–599
Mediumunglazed gray stoneware with deposits of accidental ash glaze
Dimensions24.5 x 37.4 cm (9 5/8 x 14 3/4 in.)
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineAlexander H. Bullock Fund
Object number1988.143
DescriptionLarge footed bowl or cauldron. Clay stoneware, unglazed, dark grey, deposit of accidental glaze. Old Silla DynastyLabel TextFired to stoneware hardness, burning a dark greyish color where not covered by streaks, splotches and natural ash glaze, this vessel type is clearly related to early Chinese pottery and bronze types. Above a convex band which divides the surface, a row of triangular perforations enliven the pedestal of this monumental bowl or cauldron. In Korea, as in the other countries of northeastern Asia, ceramics have long been an important form of artistic activity, pottery shards carbon dated to the beginning of the ninth millennium B.C. have been found there. Notwithstanding their debt to developments in China and their profound influence on Japanese ceramics, Koreans produced ceramic wares that are fundamentally different from those of their neighbors. Transforming Chinese prototypes, they introduced new shapes, decorative devices, and technical innovations. One of the most revolutionary changes occurred in the first century B.C. with the appearance of a hard gray pottery made with the potter's wheel. Unglazed stoneware in powerful shapes, imaginatively decorated and fired at a higher temperature, developed during the following centuries. Discovered in graves and the foundations of palaces and other buildings, these ceramics are associated with the upper class. ProvenanceKeum Ja Kang, Kang Collection, NY
On View
Not on view
Chinese
12th or 13th century, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) or Southern song dynasty (1127–1279)
Chinese
12th or 13th century, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) or Southern song dynasty (1127–1279)
