<em>Ewer with Cover</em>, first half 12th century. Stoneware with underglaze slip decoration and celadon glaze, 9 7/8 x 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. (25.1 x 24.1 x 14 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Darwin R. James III, 56.138.1a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.138.1a-b_SL3_edited.jpg)

Ewer with Cover, first half 12th century. Stoneware with underglaze slip decoration and celadon glaze, 9 7/8 x 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. (25.1 x 24.1 x 14 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Darwin R. James III, 56.138.1a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.138.1a-b_SL3_edited.jpg)

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What is the history of this object?

This is an exceptional example of Korean ceramics that would have belonged to an elite member of society when it was created in the 12th century. It was given to the museum in 1956 by a local Brooklyn couple, Mr. & Mrs. Darwin James III.

Mrs. James was the granddaughter of Lillias and Horace Underwood, prominent Christian missionaries active in the late 19th century. In Korea, Horace is best known as one of the founders of Yonsei University. Lillias was a trained nurse, and, according to their descendants, was called to the Royal Court in Korea to treat women of the royal family during a flu epidemic. The story, though unconfirmed, says that she received this ewer in thanks for her life saving help.

What's a ewer?

The word ewer refers to a vessel with a spout for pouring liquids. This ewer was specifically designed to pour wine.

Has this piece been repaired?

Like every object in the Brooklyn Museum collection, this vessel has been carefully examined, cleaned, and cared for by our team of conservators. You may have noticed cracks in the glaze; this vessel is nearly 900 years old, after all! These cracks do not extend into the clay, so the body of this vessel is still in one piece. As part of their treatment, conservators stabilized these cracks with adhesives to keep them from spreading.

Thanks.

Ewer with Cover

Asian Art

On View: Asian Galleries, South, 2nd floor

About this Brooklyn Icon
The Brooklyn Museum is commemorating its 200th anniversary by spotlighting 200 standout objects in its encyclopedic collection.

During the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392), Korean ceramicists mastered the technology to create glaze in an ethereal seafoam-green color, known in the West as celadon. This wine-pouring vessel is a masterwork of Korean celadon, not simply for its color but for the quality of its carving—and for the unusual addition of tiny white dots that highlight elements of the design.

Celadon ceramics were admired in several East Asian cultures for their resemblance to jade. Achieving a perfect celadon involved precision in both chemistry and kiln control. The process was invented in China, but by 1100 Korean ceramicists were able to produce wares that were the envy of Chinese connoisseurs.

The body, lid, and finial of this vessel are all shaped like lotus flowers; its handle is in the form of a stem. On the lid, in white, is a small moth. Directly across from it on the handle, also in white, is the cocoon where the moth metamorphosed. The lotus is a popular emblem of transcendence and purity, while butterflies and moths can symbolize rebirth.

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Gallery Label

With its delicate modeling and restrained decoration, this botanically inspired vessel is considered one of the finest Korean ceramics in existence. The lid and body have fired to slightly different tones of green—probably because they were in separate areas of the kiln—but we know that they belong together because the tiny white moth on the lid appears directly opposite the cocoon, from which it has just emerged, on the handle. Whereas the body of the ewer is made of light gray clay, the moth and cocoon are in white porcelain, a material that was new to Korean potters at the time. Also new was the addition of tiny white spots of slip (liquid clay) that serve to highlight various elements of the vessel: these are a precursor to the inlaid decoration that would become the signature ornamentation on later Goryeo celadons.

MEDIUM Stoneware with underglaze slip decoration and celadon glaze

Place Made: Korea

DATES first half 12th century

DYNASTY Goryeo Dynasty

DIMENSIONS 9 7/8 x 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. (25.1 x 24.1 x 14 cm) (show scale)

MARKINGS None

SIGNATURE Unsigned

INSCRIPTIONS None

COLLECTIONS Asian Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 56.138.1a-b

CREDIT LINE Gift of Mrs. Darwin R. James III

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION From "Korean Art Collection in the Brooklyn Museum" catalogue. The lotiform body is carved with a design of overlapping lotus petals framing leaf sprays. A pulled handle in the form of a lotus stalk is elegantly tied at the top with reeds. The cover is in the shape of an inverted lotus blossom, while the knob of the lid re-creates a lotus bud just beginning to unfurl. The cover and handle were originally joined by a chain, now marked by two loops, which are placed where a butterfly sitting on the cover would have connected with the insect's pupa on the handle. Dots of white slip accentuate the ornamental motifs. This decorative technique marks the earliest celadon wares of the twelfth century, just prior to the development of the slip inlay technique. This ewer's body is in the shape of a lotus blossom. The flower petals are arranged in four tiers, and carved in relief while the veins on the flower petals are incised. The band of lotus petals contains a honeysuckle design further embellished with dots in white slip. The lid is also decorated with three tiers of lotus petals with white slip coating, relief carving, and incision. The knob on the lid takes the shape of a lotus bud, which is accompanied by a butterfly made of white clay. Uniquely, the butterfly forms a pair with the triangular lotus leaf attached to the handle of the body. The butterfly appliqué is attached to a ring by which the ewer would have been connected to its matching cover. The shapes of the spout, handle, and foot are derived from a bamboo motif and sumptuously decorated by the techniques of incision, slip coating, and appliqué. The absence of the Goryeo dynasty's unique inlay technique shows that the ewer was made in the mid-twelfth century. The highly refined clay body and glazing, use of silica for kiln stacking, general figure of the ewer, and the various techniques used for decoration make it a truly fine work of art.

EXHIBITIONS

Arts of Korea

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

CAPTION Ewer with Cover, first half 12th century. Stoneware with underglaze slip decoration and celadon glaze, 9 7/8 x 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. (25.1 x 24.1 x 14 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Darwin R. James III, 56.138.1a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.138.1a-b_SL3_edited.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 56.138.1a-b_SL3_edited.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

"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.