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Celadons Painted in Underglaze Iron

The technique of painting in iron oxide under a celadon glaze was fully exploited during the Koryo period to produce bold decorations on robustly shaped vessels. Celadons painted in underglaze iron are fired in oxidation, resulting in yellowish or brownish glazes as opposed to the green tones of celadons fired in a reduced oxygen atmosphere. The designs are painted directly onto the ceramic body and thus tend to be more spontaneous in execution than the laboriously applied inlays.

The twelfth-century maebyong, with its lively decoration of a bird and two butterflies above scrolling vines, displays the exuberant brushwork characteristic of these wares. The expressive possibilities of this decorative technique are seen in the cylindrical-shaped vase adorned with the single motif of a willow tree. The quiet yet spontaneous quality of the drawing complements the casual and rough-hewn appearance of the vase. The improvisatory sensibilities that inform the decoration of these celadons came to the forefront in the next major period of Korean ceramics, with the development of punch’ong ware in the Choson dynasty.

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