The museum will be closed to the public on Thursday, Feb 5.
The museum will be closed to the public on Thursday, Feb 5.
Extraordinary color and elegant form unite in this masterpiece of early 12th-century Korean celadon.
Ewer with lotus-shaped lid
Approx. 1050–1150
Korea
Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
Stoneware with celadon glaze
The Avery Brundage Collection, B60P123+.a–.b
This ewer, with its color, glaze, and surface cracks, represents the pinnacle of Goryeo-dynasty (918–1392) celadon production. The ewer’s lustrous surface is a result of the purest clay, a perfect firing environment, and a masterful application of thin, transparent glaze. The exceptional color of celadons such as this led 13th-century Chinese connoisseur Taiping Laoren to write that they were the “best under heaven.”
