Cup with Chrysanthemum Design (1200s): Art, History and Details

Cup with Chrysanthemum Design (1200s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

As early as the seventh century, the practice of drinking tea became an important part of elite culture in Korea. In enjoying teas, elites commissioned a variety of types of utensils and vessels including this large bowl, not only to make their tea-drinking experience more exciting, but also to show their refined taste.

Object facts

• Title: Cup with Chrysanthemum Design
• Date: 1200s
• Culture: Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: glazed stoneware with slip decoration
• Dimensions: Overall: 8.1 cm (3 3/16 in.); Diameter of mouth: 15.5 cm (6 1/8 in.)
• Collection: Korean Art
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 1986.243

A detail from the museum

The inlaid technique depicting blooming chrysanthemums, as demonstrated in this tea cup, was the major decoration method utilized by Korean potters in the 1300s.

Collection credit

Gift of Robert W. Moore

Further reading listed by the museum

• Goryeo Dynasty: Korea's Age of Enlightenment, 918-1392. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2003.
• Lee, Young-hee. "The Study on Techniques and their Interrelations among Craft Arts of the Goryeo Dynasty [고려시대 공예기법 연구 상호관련성을 중심으로]." Misulsa hakbo 22 (2004): 133–170.
• Jang, Nam-won. "The Tea and Celadons during the Goryeo Dynasty : Considering the Celadon Tea Utensils [고려시대 茶文化와 靑瓷]." Misulsa nondan (2007): 129–162.

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.