KOREA, GORYEO DYNASTY (AD 918-1392)

This elegant, flower-form bowl was made during Korea’s Goryeo dynasty (AD 918-1392), a period of supreme artistic refinement famous for the production of exquisite celadon-glazed stonewares. During the first half of the 12th century, Korean potters looked to a variety of Chinese wares for inspiration, especially to those of the Ding and Ru kilns. The current bowl was likely inspired by Chinese imperial Ru ware, such as the Ru bowl of similar form in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Precious as the Morning Start: 12th-14th Century Celadons in the Qing Court Collection, Taiwan, 2016, p. 41, fig. I-8. As evidenced by the current bowl, the finest Korean celadons rival their Chinese counterparts in terms of both artistic sophistication and technical achievement.