This vessel, with its tapering body, round shoulders, and small mouth, is called a 'maebyeong'; it was one of the most popular forms among potters, and derives from a Chinese shape, the Mae Ping, which means 'vase for plum blossoms.
In fact, this Korean example was probably used for storing wine, and would have originally had a lid. The dark colour that contrasts so sharply with the delicate greens of most other Goryeo celadons was achieved by coating the vessel with iron pigment before glazing it.
The pigment turned black in firing. Here a floral decoration has been carved into the clay and filled with white slip.
The transcription of the audio file for this stop was enabled by the AHRC funded crowd-sourcing platform MicroPasts. The below generously gave their time to transcribe the file.
Maria Benedetto Mozo, Louisa de Gooijer, Athena and Adi Levin
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