Collection
/
Asian Art

Dragon Jar

mid 17th century

1 of 2

Object Label

By the seventeenth century, porcelain had overtaken stoneware as the ceramic of choice for wealthy Koreans and underglaze brown—once favored for decoration of Buncheong stonewares—enjoyed a brief revival, this time on porcelain vessels. These large, bulbous storage jars were formed by joining two bowls, one inverted on top of the other. The swelling surfaces of the jars give dimension and energy to curvilinear forms, as seen in particular in the swirl of the highly abstracted dragon.

Caption

Dragon Jar, mid 17th century. Porcelain with iron-painted decoration under clear glaze, overall: 12 11/16 x 14 9/16 in. (32.2 x 37 cm) Height: 12 11/16 in. (32.2 cm) Diameter: 14 9/16 in. (37 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Asian Art Council, 86.139. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

Asian Art

Title

Dragon Jar

Date

mid 17th century

Dynasty

Joseon Dynasty

Geography

Place made: Korea

Medium

Porcelain with iron-painted decoration under clear glaze

Classification

Vessel

Dimensions

overall: 12 11/16 x 14 9/16 in. (32.2 x 37 cm) Height: 12 11/16 in. (32.2 cm) Diameter: 14 9/16 in. (37 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of the Asian Art Council

Accession Number

86.139

Frequent Art Questions

  • Tell me more.

    There is a terrific sense of movement in this jar: the loosely painted dragon swirls around the body and the "throwing lines" from when the vessel was made on a wheel add a sense of dynamism.
    Korean potters went through phases when they used iron red to decorate pottery because cobalt blue was more expensive and was not readily available.

  • How do you know this is made of porcelain? The foot is red clay and the texture is rough not smooth.

    Early buncheong wares of this style were made using powdered green-tinted semi-translucent glaze, and were an affordable alternative to porcelain However, later buncheong wares, which have the loose designs you see in this work, were made with porcelain instead.

  • Tell me more.

    This jar is an example of early porcelain from the Joseon period in Korea. The loose, feathered brushstrokes were valued because they show the hand of the artist who made it.
    You can really compare the rendering of the plants and flowers on this jar with the more measured, regimented, and uniform decoration on some of the blue and white porcelain wares in our collection.

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