Page 100 - Symbols_of_Identity_Korean_Ceramics_from the Chang Collection
P. 100
he two sections from which this jar was made were lut-
Ted together about one-third of the way down the body.
A large-headed, four-clawed dragon chasing a flaming pearl
amid clouds is the main decoration. The relatively tall, flaring
neck may also have been luted to the jar. It is painted with a
band of lotus petals at the lip and a row of clouds just below. A
collar of yeo ui (Ch: rúyì) heads encircles where the shoulder
starts and the form bulges out and tapers to a waist before flar-
ing gently at the foot. Another band of lotus petals is painted
around the foot. The indented footrim is tall, beveled, and un-
glazed at the bottom. The bluish-toned glaze coats the deeply
cut base. The lid is domed with a conical knob that is deco-
rated with a stylized flower, probably a lotus, at the tip. The
dome of the lid is painted with twisting clouds. The flat collar
of the cover is decorated with two parallel lines that encircle
78. the lid near the edge.
Lidded jar
Second half of 19th century, Joseon It is rare to find this type of jar with its original cover. Al-
TL results: fired between 200 & 400 years ago though difficult to say whether the lid associated with this jar
Porcelain with underglaze cobalt decoration is original, it is at least safe to say that this lid was originally in-
H: 67.5 cm (including lid), W: 28.5 cm tended for this type of dragon jar. The reasons to question the
1
original association of the lid and jar include the whiteness of
the lid, which is brighter than the white on the jar, though this
may be explained by inconsistencies during the firing process.
The lid is more sparsely decorated than the jar and the flat col-
lar also seems slightly too small in proportion to the mouth of
the jar. The cobalt blue on the lid and the jar are the same tone.
1 For another example of a dragon jar with the same type of lid, see: Yong-i Yun, “Part III Punch’ŏng
Wares and Porcelains of the Chosŏn Dynasty,” in Korean Art from the Gompertz and Other Collec-
tions in the Fitzwilliam Museum: A Complete Catalogue, ed. Regina Krahl (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2006), 274.
98
