Melon ewer with lotus-flower design,

12th century

Celadon—a Western term for stoneware featuring greenish blue to grayish blue-green glaze—was first produced in Korea in the late ninth or early tenth century, after the arrival of examples imported from China. Goryeo dynasty celadons, which are widely regarded as the most artistically and technologically sophisticated in the history of Korean ceramics, are known for their diversity of forms, sophisticated decoration, and luminous glaze. The finely molded body of this twelfth- century ewer reflects the peak of Goryeo celadon production. It was first shaped on a potter’s wheel and then molded to form the lobes. A curved spout and handle were then added to the vessel, which resembles a bulbous melon. The surface of the ceramic body was incised with leafy sprays of lotus blossoms that show through the elegant, greenish glaze.