Covered Faceted Jar with Abstract Decor
Korean
Resting on a circular footring, this jar's lowest portion resembles a bowl with rapidly expanding sides. The vessel's midsection boasts thirteen vertical facets, each with arched top and bottom. The circular, angled shoulder, which gives rise to the short, ring-like neck, echoes the form of the jar's lowest portion; the overall bilaterally symmetrical form gives the vessel visual and actual stability. The cover, which resembles an overturned dish, also echoes the jar's lowest portion, particularly since its short, circular handle resembles the jar's footring. The jar and cover are undecorated, save the faceting of its side walls and the incised wavy line that embellishes its shoulder and that is bordered by a pair of incised bowstring lines at the base of the shoulder and by a similar pair at the base of the neck. A thin coating of medium brown glaze covers the jar inside and out, except for the bottom of the footring and the inside of the neck; the same glaze covers the exterior of the cover.
Glazed ceramic ware: light gray stoneware with mottled brown glaze over incised decoration. Made in Namwŏn-gun, North Chŏlla province.
Chosŏn dynasty, 1392-1910