Cleveland Museum of Art

Crackle-glazed Bowl

Date

1100s

Medium

pottery

Culture

Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)

Department

Korean Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

During the Goryeo period (918-1392), about 260 kilns operated in mainly Jeolla and Chungcheong provinces, meeting a high consumer demand. Celadon wares used for everyday such as this bowl were among the most common burial objects in elites' tombs. Furnishing tombs with an elaborate assemblage of objects was believed to honor and comfort the newly dead. Generally, Goryeo tombs were left untouched until the late 19th century. During the colonial period (1910–45), however, Japanese archaeologists competitively excavated the tombs located in Kaeseong, the former capital of the Goryeo period, and these wares soon became available for Japanese and Western collectors. The crackle pattern that appears all over this bowl was caused by a thermal expansion mismatch between the body and the glaze.

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