Cleveland Museum of Art

Pitcher with Inlaid Figure and Willow Design

Date

1200s

Medium

celadon ware with inlaid white and black slip decoration

Culture

Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)

Department

Korean Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Representations of the elite’s elegant gatherings also appear on craft art designs, particularly depictions of the four accomplishments celebrated as cultivated pastimes by the scholar-literati elite—that is, playing stringed instruments and chess, and practicing calligraphy and painting. The image on this rare Korean inlaid celadon of two figures sitting together under a tree is comparable to renderings featuring the accomplishment motif of playing chess, or baduk in Korean. As one of the oldest board games invented in China, this East Asian chess is still played in international competition venues.

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