Bowl, Chosôn dynasty (1392–1910), first half of 16th century
Korea
Stoneware with white slip under punch'ông glaze
Technical Glossary
Korea
Stoneware with white slip under punch'ông glaze
H. 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Oliver, 1983 (1983.557.2)
The Chosôn ceramic ware that gained widespread favor in Japan beginning in the late fifteenth century was not fine white porcelain, the main product of Korean kilns—particularly the official court kilns—at the time, but punch’ông (powder green) stoneware, so-called because of its bluish green transparent glaze. This bowl, which was dipped partially in white slip and then covered with a glaze before firing, is typical of the type of punch’ông ware that was especially prized by practitioners of the tea ceremony in Japan as the embodiment of the aesthetics of rusticity and naturalness.
