Box (918–1392): Art, History and Details

Box (918–1392) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Celadons, spoons, seals, and bronze mirrors were the most common burial objects in tombs during the Goryeo period (918–1392). Once used to contain colored powder, rouge, and eyebrow gel for makeup, this small container was one of the standard goods that furnished elites' tombs. Both women and men used the grain powder of rice or millet for whitening their skin, safflower extract for rouge, and plant ash or soot for eyebrow gel. Yet, natural-looking makeup seems to have been the most favorable one in Korea according to the travelogue by Xu Jing (1091–1153), the Chinese diplomat who visited Korea in 1123.

Object facts

• Title: Box
• Date: 918–1392
• Culture: Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: earthenware
• Dimensions: Diameter: 19.4 cm (7 5/8 in.); Overall: 12.7 cm (5 in.)
• Collection: Korean Art
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 1916.1186.a

A detail from the museum

This lidded ceramic container was used to store either incense or cosmetics.

Collection credit

John L. Severance Collection

Further reading listed by the museum

• Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, and 국외소재문화재재단. The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Edited by An Min-hŭi. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.