<em>Ewer with Cover</em>, 12th century. Stoneware with celadon glaze, wood, Height: 7 5/16 in. (18.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, The Peggy N. and Roger G. Gerry Collection, 2004.28.242a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum (in collaboration with National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, , CUR.2004.28.242a-b_view01_Heon-Kang_photo_NRICH_edited.jpg)

Ewer with Cover, 12th century. Stoneware with celadon glaze, wood, Height: 7 5/16 in. (18.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, The Peggy N. and Roger G. Gerry Collection, 2004.28.242a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum (in collaboration with National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, , CUR.2004.28.242a-b_view01_Heon-Kang_photo_NRICH_edited.jpg)

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I am a ceramics student and was wondering if celadon was an important, even unique glaze in ancient Asian Art and why so. And to what extent is the use of celadon within contemporary ceramics bound to celadon's history?

Celadon glaze was especially valued for the cloud-like, pale blue-green color that could be achieved. Korean potters were internationally recognized as having mastered the technique.

I don't know much about contemporary use of celadon for practical vessels, but I do know that some contemporary artists use it. In that case it is usually a reference to the history and historical applications of the material.

Yes, thanks so much!

What is celadon?

Celadon is a blue-green glaze, often used on stoneware, a kind of ceramic. Celadons are named due to the greenish-blue color of their glaze. Their color can vary in tone from grayish to greenish depending on the composition of the clay. The color of celadon is achieved by placing a green-colored glaze over a gray clay body and the reaction of iron oxide when the vessel is fired in a reduction atmosphere.

Thank you.

Ewer with Cover

Asian Art

On View: Asian Galleries, South, 2nd floor

Gourds and melons were popular motifs in East Asian design because their many seeds were associated with fertility and abundance. Both of these vessels have handles that reference the twisting vines of gourd and melon plants, with small tendril-like loops at the top where a string or chain would have attached the handle to a ceramic lid. Both original lids are now missing; the melon-shaped ewer has a wood replacement. Both ewers are decorated with lotus flowers, symbols of spiritual transcendence because lotuses rise above their lowly origin (pond water) to bloom in glorious color.

MEDIUM Stoneware with celadon glaze, wood

Place Made: Korea

DATES 12th century

DYNASTY Goryeo Dynasty

DIMENSIONS Height: 7 5/16 in. (18.6 cm) Diameter at mouth: 1 13/16 in. (4.6 cm) Diameter at base: 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm) width with handle and spout: 8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Asian Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 2004.28.242a-b

CREDIT LINE The Peggy N. and Roger G. Gerry Collection

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Melon-shaped ewer with curved spout and handle, decorated with incised foliate and floral design. The incised lines at the lower end of the spout revealing a lotus leaf covering the surface. A small loop is attached to the top of the grooved handle, originally connecting the lid with a chain or string. Current wooden lid is a later replacement. The ewer is evenly covered by glassy, crackled celadon glaze. Glaze stops right at the bottom. Base is slightly indented and partially glazed. Foot ring is unglazed and attached with sand. Condition: Intact. (From original catalogue card) This celadon ewer has a melon-shaped body decorated with incised lotus spray designs. These particular designs were stylized and were extensively used for celadon bottles, jars and ewers in the twelfth century. Similarly, the melon shape was also widely used for other celadon objects such as bottles and maebyeong vases made in the same period. While the lid has disappeared, the serene beauty and color of the glaze and the elaborate design make this ewer a great work of art. From "Korean Art Collection in the Brooklyn Museum" catalogue.

EXHIBITIONS

Arts of Korea

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Asian Galleries, South, 2nd floor

CAPTION Ewer with Cover, 12th century. Stoneware with celadon glaze, wood, Height: 7 5/16 in. (18.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, The Peggy N. and Roger G. Gerry Collection, 2004.28.242a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum (in collaboration with National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, , CUR.2004.28.242a-b_view01_Heon-Kang_photo_NRICH_edited.jpg)

IMAGE side, CUR.2004.28.242a-b_view01_Heon-Kang_photo_NRICH_edited.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph (in collaboration with National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, , 2005

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Celadon glaze was especially valued for the cloud-like, pale blue-green color that could be achieved. Korean potters were internationally recognized as having mastered the technique.

Yes, thanks so much!

What is celadon?

Thank you.