Korean Ceramics from the Three Kingdoms and Goryeo Period

Tamara Duran

John Listopad

April 30, 2017

ART 117C
 Korean art has changed with each period of government change and this in turn has

had great influence on the other surrounding Asian countries around it. They have

influenced the other countries through painting, sculpture, ceramics, and architecture;

though the greatest may be ceramics and sculpture. In ceramics Korean art had no direct

rules; they would fix the problem as it would come. As for sculpture Korean and other

Asian countries influenced each other. At the Crocker Art Museum they have a few works

of Korean art and art from other Asian countries. The Korean art was limited but it had

pieces from each major period in Korea; the Three Kingdoms period, Goryeo period, and

Joseon period. Though it was limited it was very interesting to to looks at all the works

and learn a bit about them. Three works had particularly caught my interest though and

they were the Pedestal Bowl with cover and the Ewer ceramics.
 The Pedestal Bowl was said to be from the Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE - 668

CE) and was made from unglazed stoneware. It was estimated to be from the 5th to 6th

century CE. Some observations I made were that there was some decorative patterns on

the bowl and cover and that it has rectangular holes on the stand. The bowl is also

unglazed so it was fired as just dry clay. I had also noticed that there was some strange

markings on the very top of the lid that looks like there may have been something

attached to the top. Through some research I have found out a bit more about the

ceramics from the Three Kingdoms period.

 Ceramics from the Three Kingdoms period had similar looks to each other. Meaning

they would have the same or similar feature such as the rectangular holes on the pedestal

bowl from the Crocker. They are also considered to be dramatic because of the long
decorative stands. There are two types of stands: one is a support with a dish-shaped rim

at the top; the other is a bowl at the top of that stand. The stands would have horizontal

divisions and either triangular or rectangular holes. The Three Kingdoms period also had

slight differences between the pedestals based on where it originated. An example from

Korean Art and Design by Beth Mckillop shows the differences between a pedestal pot

from the Kaya confederacy and one from the Kingdom of Silla. Learning this information

I looked at other ceramic pieces from the time period and compared the one from the

Crocker to the others I found.

In Traditional Korean Ceramics: A Look by a Scientist by Carolyn Kyongshin Koh

Choo there was a stoneware mounted cup with cover and stoneware mounted jar that

have some similarities to the pedestal bowl from the Crocker Art Museum. The two from

the book are also from the Three Kingdoms period. The cup was estimated to be between

18 BC-AD 663 and the jar is estimated to be between 18BC-AD 668. Both are considered

to be togi ware and that they exhibit elements of beauty that characterize Korean

ceramics in general (Choo, p.30). The cup has the same sort of rectangular holes on the

bottom part of the cup and is around the same style/shape as the pedestal bowl. The jar

has also has the same rectangular holes on the bottom part of it.
 Some differences I noted from the jar and cup from the pedestal bowl were that they

both have a different pattern from the the pedestal bowl and that one of them was more

nicely made or cleanly cut. So that may mean that it originated from a specific kingdom

in the Three Kingdoms period or that it had belong to someone important ,such as a royal

or government official, or that it was used for rituals. Whereas the pedestal bowl and cup

did not look as cleanly made based on the rectangular holes on the bottom of them. The

cuts on some of the rectangular holes were more jagged, rough and uneven. Though with

these small details all three ceramics are all still well-made.

The Ewer was said to be from the Goryeo period (918-1392) and was made from

stoneware with a celadon glaze. A few observations that I made was that there was a
decorative design all around the the ewer. The design appeared to be a lotus that could

only be noticed if looked at very closely. I had also noticed that the lid of the ewer was in

a lotus shape which could be noticed when looking at the ewer from a certain angle and

that . Another observation I had made was that there are rings on the lid and handle which

may mean that they were connected through a thread or chain at one point. Some other

details I had noticed was that there was some indentations or nicks around the ewer that

look like they may have come from the glazing process. The overall shape of the ewer is

the shape of a doubled gourd and that the handle has a twisted design to it that gives the

affect of a stem or vine of a plant. In further research I learned more about the ceramics

the Goryeo period and the popularity they had.

 The ceramics from the Goryeo period were quiet popular but the most popular

and well known were Goryeo celadons. It was popular because of the glazing on it

would make beautiful hues which ranged from greenish blue to a grayish blue or

green. The Goryeo celedons had been introduced though the Chinese but the Korean

celadons had distinct differences from the Chinese celadon. These differences were

the shapes and designs of and on the celedon ceramics. The celadon ceramics would

be shaped like vegetables and animals such as gourds, melons, flowers, ducks,

monkeys and turtles. Some examples would be an ewer in the shape of a double

gourd and an ewer with lid in The Art of Korea: Highlights from the Collection of

San Franciscos Asian Art Museum. The celadon ceramics would also have intricate

designs made that were made through inlays (sanggam), incising, relief, and painting

with black and white clay. Some designs that would be put on the celadon would be

clouds, cranes, flowers, and grapvines. Based on this information I can comparing

the ewer from the Crocker to other ceramic pieces from the Goryeo period.

As I have mentioned above The Art of Korea: Highlights from the Collection of

San Franciscos Asian Art Museum has an ewer in the shape of a double gourd and an

ewer with lid. These two both bare similarities and differences from the ewer from

the Crocker Art Museum. The similarities that the double gourd ewer shares with the

ewer from the Crocker is the double gourd shape and the lotus inlay they both have.

The both have a slenderness to them, the double gourd is attatched at a narrow

waist/center for both of them, and they both have a flat bottom as well. One other

similarity I had noticed was that they both have indentations or nicks from the
glazing process on them. The similarities I noticed bettween the the ewer at the

Crocker and the ewer wirh lid was that they both have a lotus shaped lid. Also they

both have the spout close the the whole whole piece.

A few differences I had noticed were between the ewer from the Crocker and the

ewer in the shape of a double gourd was the way their handles look.The one from the

Crocker has a twisted vine/stem shape to it whereas the double gourd ewer is a fairly

simple looking handle. Their spouts are also a bit different; the one from the Crocker
is closer to the the whole piece and the double gourd one is a bit further out. Some

other differences are the the lids and other designs. The double gourd is missing its

lid but does have indication that it had one at one point based on the the ring on the

handle. Also the double gourd ewer has a double line design that goes around the

waist and the top part of the ewer.

The differences between the ewer at the Crocker and the ewer with lid is their

shape and size. The ewer with lid is more intricately made and is geometrically

shaped. It forms perfect cylinders from the top just before the lid to the bottom of the

base. It also has very little designs; the one design it does have the double lines

around one part of the ewer just like the double gourd. Their lids are also a bit

different even though they are both a lotus lid they are shape different. The ewer with

lid is more detailed whereas the the ewer from the Crocker is more rounded a simple

in make. Overall all three both have their similarities and differences but they are

easy to distinguish that they are from the Goryeo period.

 The Three Kingdoms Pedestal Bowl and the Goryeo Ewer both have their own

intricate details. The pedestal bowl has rectangular holes, dabbed pattern and is

unglazed. The ewer has a lotus inlay design, is in the shape of a double gourd, and is

glazed. Though their details differ from each other based on time period, style and

influences. They both present what ceramic art was like during the their time.
 Bibliography

Choo, Carolyn KyongShin Koh. Traditional Korean Ceramics: A Look by a Scientist.

Designnanoom. Seoul, Korea. 2016.

Kim, Kumja Paik. The Art of Korea: Highlights from the Collection of San Franciscos

Asian Art Museum. 2006.

McKillop, Beth. Korean Art and Design. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. 1992.

Portal, Jane. Korea: Art and Archeaology. Thames & Hudson Inc. 2000.

Whitfield, Roderick. Journal of Korean Art & Archerology: Celedon of the Goryeo

Dynasty.National Museum of Korea. 2012