Cleveland Museum of Art

Bowl with Stamped Floral Decoration

Date

1400s

Medium

glazed ceramic

Culture

Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)

Department

Korean Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This type of wide-mouthed bowl was used every day in Korea, not exclusively for tea drinking. But when it was introduced to Japan around the early 16th century, its imperfect appearance evoking the aesthetics of wabi-sabi caused it to be repurposed as a tea bowl. Korean tea bowls were circulated as an item of foreign luxury among Japanese military elites. Many Korean potters were abducted to japan during the Japanese invasions (1592–98) and some settled down in Japan, particularly in the Saga prefecture in Kyushu. A Japanese tea bowl such as 1983.158 in the CMA collection is one example possibly created by the descendants of dislocated Korean potters. This type of humble tea bowl was highly praised among Japanese collectors for its imperfect beauty.

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