Page 105 - Korean Buncheong Ceramics, Samsung Museum Collection (great book)
P. 105
ambiguous designs
Certain buncheong designs might appropriately be called conceptual — possibly in artistic intent,
and certainly in effect. The principal motif of a fifteenth-century bottle (cat. 55) is a large circle
divided in two by a reverse - S - shaped line. Modern viewers will recognize this design as the yin–yang
symbol, or, in the Korean context, the taegeuk, emblem of the complementarity of opposites, such
as sky and earth. What exactly this intriguing and enigmatic motif meant to the potter and the
consumer of the period remains a mystery. One clue is the presence of cloudlike elements around
the taegeuk: could the motif be a bastardized form of the cintamani jewel, originally associated with
Catalogue 55 Flask-shaped bottle with decoration of cintamani jewel and clouds. Korean, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910);
second half of the 15th century. Buncheong with incised and sgraffito design, H. 8 in. (20.2 cm), Diam. of mouth 2 in. (5 cm),
Diam. of foot 4 in. (10 cm). Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul
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