Pitcher (1100s): Art, History and Details

Pitcher (1100s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

The chrysanthemum is the flower of autumn. In East Asia, its wine was believed to bring longevity if drunk during the Double Nine Festival (September 9). "Drinking Wine," a poem by Tao Yuanming (365–427), combines the flower with the theme of the reclusive life: "From the eastern fence, I pluck chrysanthemum flowers, and idly look toward the southern hills." In Korea, the chrysanthemum was established as a popular motif for Goryeo inlaid celadon as early as the 1100s. The flower was used as the main motif for wine service vessels in particular. When Koreans drank wine from Goryeo celadon decorated with chrysanthemum designs, they believed that Tao’s faithful spirit transferred to their inner mind, as did the blessings of longevity.

Object facts

• Title: Pitcher
• Date: 1100s
• Culture: Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: celadon ware with inlaid white and black slip decoration
• Dimensions: Outer diameter: 15 cm (5 7/8 in.); height: 18.8 cm (7 3/8 in.)
• Collection: Korean Art
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 1917.357

A detail from the museum

The shape of this pitcher resembles is a type of yellow muskmelon cultivated mainly in East Asia.

Collection credit

Gift of John L. Severance

Further reading listed by the museum

• Cleveland Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Kungnip Chungang Pangmulgwan (Korea), and Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. 5,000 Years of Korean Art. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 1979.
• Goryeo Dynasty: Korea's Age of Enlightenment, 918-1392. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2003.
• Lee, Young-hee. "The Study on the Craft technique of Koryo Dynasty-Centering on Interrelation [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.