Page 65 - Symbols_of_Identity_Korean_Ceramics_from the Chang Collection

material was already very expensive by the time it reached China from the Middle East,
Korean blue and white porcelain of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries would have been
prohibitively expensive and was therefore mainly for court use. Domestic Chinese cobalt
was discovered and used successfully in China during the Chenghua period (1465–1487)
and was probably in regular use by the seventeenth century. Japanese invasions of Korea
in the late sixteenth century put the production of blue and white porcelain to a standstill
during the seventeenth century. It was not until the eighteenth century that production
started again, this time for the consumption of a much wider section of Korean society.
Lower quality blue and white wares were made in abundance during the nineteenth cen-
tury and the once elite ware became relatively affordable. As China was successfully using
high quality cobalt mined within its own territory, the material would therefore likely have
been much easier and cheaper to import into Korea. Such was the demand that even the
less desirable, local Korean cobalt was employed at provincial potteries. 3

Goryeo celadon evolved into a new form of ceramics known as buncheong, a grayish, “powder
green” glazed stoneware decorated with white slip and which often features stamped and
inlaid decorations. Buncheong wares were used by all levels of society, kings and common-
ers alike. This type of humble yet socially versatile stoneware flourished only in the early
part of the dynasty. Japanese invasions, launched by the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, in
1592 and 1598 decimated the production of Korean ceramics. Entire pottery-producing
villages were relocated to Japan, where they made significant and lasting contributions to
the Japanese ceramics industry. Another reason for the demise of buncheong wares was
the rising popularity of white porcelain. During the sixteenth century, buncheong wares
were sometimes entirely coated in white slip in order to imitate porcelain wares (cat. 47).
The devastations of war continued to affect Korea in the seventeenth century with Manchu
invasions from the north.

The latter part of the Joseon dynasty saw a greater production of porcelains as they became
used by the general public, outside of the yangban class. The utilitarian onggi ware (cats.
107-108), a stoneware with dark brown glaze, was used for everyday purposes and essential
to the food culture of Korea throughout all levels of society.

3 Ibid., 67-68.

63