Brooklyn Museum: Asian Art: Dragon Jar

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Dragon Jar

Whereas earlier Korean potters created wares in gray clay, at the beginning of the Chos?n dynasty (1392–1910) white porcelain became the favored material for ceramic production. Tablewares for the Chos?n imperial court were produced at Kwangju, in Kyounggi province. To ensure a sufficient supply of firewood, the site of the kiln was relocated every ten years. The strict moral codes of Confucianism were often reflected in the artistic production of the times, particularly in the taste for simple forms and decoration. The white color of Chos?n porcelain ideally satisfied this aesthetic.

The brown decoration on Brooklyn's dragon jar is iron oxide painted directly on the porcelain and then covered with a clear glaze. The dragon image functioned to protect the food inside the vessel from evil spirits as well as to attract good fortune for its owner. The dynamic diamond-shaped profile of the jar results from forming the top and bottom halves separately on the potter's wheel and then joining them rim-to-rim.

Medium: Porcelain with iron-painted decoration under clear glaze
Place Made: Korea
Dates: mid 17th century
Dynasty: Joseon Dynasty
Period: Yi Dynasty
Dimensions: 12 3/8 x 14 5/8in. (31.4 x 37.1cm) Diameter at mouth: 4 3/4 in. (12 cm) Diameter at base: 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm)
Collections: Asian Art
Museum Location: This item is on view in Asian Galleries, The Arts of Korea, 2nd Floor
Accession Number: 86.139
Credit Line: Gift of the Asian Art Council
Image: Overall, 86.139_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

Catalogue Description: The dragons that adorn seventeenth-century Joseon porcelain jars were conceived more as comical figures than the more traditional, sublime dragons that symbolized royalty. The political and economic instability of the period, caused by the Ming-Qing transition in China, affected the import of cobalt blue pigment from the continent, eventually leading Joseon potters to use iron oxide. The dragon decorating the surface of this jar has protruding round eyes and a wide-open mouth that suggest innocence and naiveté rather than furiousness. The limbless dragon, flying among the clouds, is depicted in an extremely simple manner with just a few strokes of the brush. There are a lot of impurities in the clay of the body, which is coated with a light gray glaze. It is a fine work of art that exhibits the distinctive characteristics of seventeenth century porcelain jars decorated with dragon designs in underglaze iron. From "Korean Art Collection in the Brooklyn Museum" catalogue.

Collections: Asian Art: Dragon Jar