Page 31 - Korean Buncheong Ceramics, Samsung Museum Collection (great book)

ManaGinG bunCheonG ProduCtion
In addition to mandating the inscription of the names of government bureaus and of potters for
quality and quantity control, the Joseon government directly oversaw the operation of important
kilns with superior products. Officials from the capital were dispatched to select kilns; an entry
dating to 1411 in the Joseon wangjo sillok (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty) records that the court
sent a palace attendant named An Hwa-sang to supervise the production of flower vases at
kilns in Jungmo and Hwaryeong, Gyeongsang Province. Jungmo and Hwaryeong were areas in
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present-day Sangju County, where a number of fifteenth-century buncheong kiln sites remain.
A large fifteenth-century jar (cat. 10) may be an example of the flower vases used by the office of
Sangnimwon during royal banquets. A number of extant vessels of this type are decorated with
floral motifs, suggesting they functioned as vases. However, the existence of similarly shaped jars
with nonfloral designs indicates that this type of vessel may have been used for various purposes
in daily life, not just to hold flowers for official events.
The practice of dispatching supervisors to regional kilns to oversee the manufacture of ceramics
for use at the royal court and in government offices can be traced back to the late Goryeo dynasty,
as confirmed by a fourteenth-century document. At that time, Saongbang, the government office in
charge of preparing the king’s meals and the royal banquets, sent officials to regional kilns to
oversee the production of celadon; during the early Joseon period, Saongbang officials were still
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supervising the production of ceramics, including buncheong ware. The system would soon change:
about 1466, official court kilns were founded at Bunwon, in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, to make
porcelain for the royal court and government bureaus. The following year, Saongbang became
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Saongwon, and its responsibility shifted to manage-
ment of the quality, quantity, and decoration of
porcelain at Bunwon and expanded to include
management of the potters themselves. The official
court kilns turned to manufacturing both the plain
white ceramic and the blue-and-white type (see
fig. 1.7). In addition, the painters of the blue-and-white
porcelain made at Bunwon were trained artists,
members of the court’s Bureau of Painting who
were selected to decorate porcelain for court use
as well. Thus, with the buncheong kilns no longer
under government management, the conditions
of its production changed dramatically, as did its
ornamentation, distribution, and consumption.

Figure 1.7 Jar with decoration of bamboo and plum blossoms. Korean, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910); 15th century.
Porcelain with cobalt-blue design, H. 16 ⁄8 in. (41 cm), Diam. of mouth 6 ⁄8 in. (15.7 cm), Diam. of base 7 ⁄8 in. (18.2 cm).
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Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, National Treasure no. 219
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