Page 90 - Korean Buncheong Ceramics, Samsung Museum Collection (great book)

chrysanthemums
Chrysanthemums, autumnal flowers, came to represent the virtuous Confucian scholar in later
Joseon paintings and ceramics, along with the plum, bamboo, and orchid. Their symbolic meaning
on buncheong ware, though, is not known. The stamped chrysanthemums on buncheong derive
from the inlaid chrysanthemum designs on Goryeo celadon. On some twelfth- and thirteenth-century
inlaid celadons of the Goryeo period, these flowers are presented with stem and leaves (see fig. 2.12);
on late-stage Goryeo celadon, one finds repeating stamped blossoms (see fig. 2.13).

above: Figure 2.12 Detail of cup with
decoration of chrysanthemums. Korean,
Goryeo dynasty (918–1392); mid-12th
century. Celadon with inlaid design,
1
5
H. 2 ⁄8 in. (5.4 cm), Diam. of rim 2 ⁄8 in.
(6.7 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of
Art, New York, Gift of Samuel T. Peters,
1915 (15.160.15)
right: Figure 2.13 Detail of bottle with
decoration of chrysanthemums. Korean,
Goryeo dynasty (918–1392); 13th–14th
century. Celadon with stamped and
inlaid design, H. 13 5 ⁄8 in. (34.6 cm),
Diam. 7 3 ⁄8 in. (18.7 cm). The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York, Fletcher Fund,
1927 (27.119.6)

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