Floral-shaped Cup and Saucer with Inlaid Chrysanthemum Design (1100s-1200s): Art, History and Details

Floral-shaped Cup and Saucer with Inlaid Chrysanthemum Design (1100s-1200s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

In Korea, chrysanthemum flowers and leaves were made into both tea and wine. Chrysanthemum wine was enjoyed during the the Double Nine Festival (the ninth day of the ninth month in the lunar calendar) praying for longevity. The flower design on the saucer is less delicate than the cup, suggesting that the cup and saucer originally were not related to each other.

Object facts

• Title: Floral-shaped Cup and Saucer with Inlaid Chrysanthemum Design
• Date: 1100s-1200s
• Culture: Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: Celadon ware with inlaid white and black slip decoration
• Dimensions: Diameter of mouth: 7.9 cm (3 1/8 in.); Overall: 11.5 cm (4 1/2 in.)
• Collection: Korean Art
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 1928.171

A detail from the museum

Elites of the Goryeo period are known for their love of drinking tea and wine. In Korea, chrysanthemum flowers and leaves were made into both tea and wine.

Collection credit

Gift of John L. Severance

Further reading listed by the museum

• "Recent Additions to the Collection of Korean Pottery." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 15, no. 9 (November 1928): 182-184
• 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.

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.