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

Pigment Box (lid) (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 make-up seems to have been the most favorable one in Korean according to the travelogue by Xu Jing (1091-1153), the Chinese diplomat who visited Korea in 1123.

Object facts

• Title: Pigment Box (lid)
• Date: 918–1392
• Culture: Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: inlaid celadon ware
• Dimensions: Diameter: 9 cm (3 9/16 in.); Overall: 3.9 cm (1 9/16 in.)
• Collection: Korean Art
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 1928.165.b

A detail from the museum

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

Collection credit

Gift of John L. Severance

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.