Page 21 - Korean Buncheong Ceramics, Samsung Museum Collection (great book)

left: Figure 1.2 Maebyeong with decoration of chrysanthemums and peonies. Korean, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392);
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13th century. Celadon with inlaid design, H. 12 1 ⁄4 in. (31.2 cm), Diam. of mouth 2 ⁄4 in. ( 7 cm), Diam. of base 5 ⁄4 in.
(14.5 cm). Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, Treasure no. 558
right: Figure 1.3 Detail of figure 1.2

green color for which it is famed. Inlaid celadon — a uniquely Korean phenomenon — culminated
in the late thirteenth century with ornamentation that covered the entire surface. This treatment is
exemplified on an inlaid plum bottle, or, in Korean, maebyeong (fig. 1.2). The style continued into the
fourteenth century. Ceramics began to be stamped as well as inlaid: stamps were used for simple,
repetitive motifs, now no longer carved. The indentations were then filled with white or red slip
(when fired, the iron-rich red turns black). On the maebyeong cited above, the details of the clouds,
cranes, lotus flowers, and peonies show evidence of having been individually carved; in contrast,
the chrysanthemums and the circles inside the lotus leaves, executed with stamps, display far more
uniformity. Though the designs on fourteenth-century inlaid celadon became more simplified over
time, they still continued the earlier tradition.
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The most widely known type of inlaid celadon object is the maebyeong. Maebyeongs dating to
the eleventh and twelfth centuries are generally undecorated; when decorated, they are embellished
with incised, carved, or underglaze iron-painted designs. As noted above, during the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries inlaid celadon ware rendered with motifs covering the entire surface became
popular. Most buncheong maebyeong bottles from the fifteenth century also have inlaid designs
(see cat. 2). The small mouth with out-turned rim, the round shoulders and globular body, and the

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