Wine Pot with Incised Lotus Design (918–1392): Art, History and Details

Wine Pot with Incised Lotus Design (918–1392) 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. Elites of the Goryeo period commissioned a variety of types of utensils and vessels including this elegant wine pot with the incised image of lotus flowers, not only to make their drinking experience more exciting, but also to show their appreciation of nature.

Object facts

• Title: Wine Pot with Incised Lotus Design
• Date: 918–1392
• Culture: Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: celadon ware with incised and carved decoration
• Dimensions: Overall: 22.4 cm (8 13/16 in.)
• Collection: Korean Art
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 1921.628

A detail from the museum

A small loop on the handle was intended to secure the lid (now missing) on top of the pitcher through a cord or chain.

Collection credit

Gift of John L. Severance

Further reading listed by the museum

• MacClean, J. Arthur. “Korean Art in Gallery X.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 8, no. 8 (October 1921): 121–122, and 127.
• Goryeo Dynasty: Korea's Age of Enlightenment, 918-1392. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2003.
• 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.