Detail View: The AMICA Library: Bottle

AMICA ID: 
ASIA.1979.197
AMICA Library Year: 
1999
Object Type: 
Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Creator Nationality: 
Asian; Far East Asian; Korean
Creator Name-CRT: 
Korean
Title: 
Bottle
View: 
Full view
Creation Date: 
Choson period, c. mid- to late 18th century
Creation Start Date: 
1750
Creation End Date: 
1799
Materials and Techniques: 
Porcelain painted with underglaze cobalt blue
Classification Term: 
Ceramics
Creation Place: 
Korea
Dimensions: 
H. 15 1/2 in. (39.4 cm); D. 8 1/4 in. (21 cm)
AMICA Contributor: 
Asia Society
Owner Location: 
New York, New York, USA
ID Number: 
1979.197
Credit Line: 
Asia Society: The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection
Rights: 
Context: 
Two types of ceramics were prominent during the Choson period (1392-1912): stonewares known as Punch'ong wares, which at first were notable for their inlaid decoration; and porcelains, which were primarily decorated with underglaze cobalt blue, iron red,or iron brown. Some porcelains were not painted but merely covered with a transparent glaze. Cobalt blue was scarce in Korea, and supplies were often imported from China. The earliest blue-and-white wares were reserved for the use of the court, and it wasnot until the 18th century that this type of porcelain was distributed more widely in Korea.

This long-necked blue-and-white bottle, an 18th-century piece, is typical of Korean art during the later Choson period. The bottle was carefully potted and itsshape is strong and regular. The four lotus flowers and scrolls that decorate it are symmetrically placed and precisely painted. This structuring of the composition is also evident in the pairs of horizontal lines painted on the neck and foot of the bottle. The high quality of this ceramic indicates that it could have been used either at the court or in an upper-class home.

Related Document Description: 
Asia Society. Handbook of the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection. New York: Asia Society, [1981], p. 87.
Related Document Description: 
Griffing, Robert P., Jr. The Art of the Korean Potter: Silla, Koryo, Yi. New York: Asia Society, 1968, pp. 53, 113, 128, 129.
Related Document Description: 
Mowry, Robert D. 'Korean Art in Western Collections: The Asia Society--The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection.' Korean Culture 3 (March 1982), p. 5.
Related Image Identifier Link: 
ASIA.1979.197.a.tif