Prunus Vase with Inlaid Clouds and Flying Cranes Design (1300s): Art, History and Details

Prunus Vase with Inlaid Clouds and Flying Cranes Design (1300s) 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 and wine became an important part of elite culture in Korea. Once used to store alcoholic beverages, this type of vase features a wide body followed by a sharply rounded shoulder, a short neck and a small opening. Most of the remaining examples no longer have a lid, but originally it may have had a lid that not only covered the opening, but also served as a cup.

Object facts

• Title: Prunus Vase with Inlaid Clouds and Flying Cranes Design
• Date: 1300s
• Culture: Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: celadon ware with inlaid white and black slip decoration
• Dimensions: Outer diameter: 20.4 cm (8 1/16 in.); Overall: 37 cm (14 9/16 in.)
• Collection: Korean Art
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 1921.634

A detail from the museum

Prunus vases such as this one are often believed to contain a branch of plum blossoms, but recent research reveals that these lidded vases were also used to contain cooking liquid such as sesame oil.

Collection credit

Gift of John L. Severance

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.
• Kim, Yoon-jeong. "Influence of Yuan Dynasty Wares on the Inlaid Celadons of the Late Goryeo Period [高麗後期 象嵌靑磁에 보이는 元代 磁器의 영향]." Musul sahak yeongu (2006): 163–205.

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.