Box

The small cylindrical box with cover is decorated with stylized chrysanthemum designs in white inlay, and with copper oxide dots under the celadon glaze. Similar round boxes with cover in form and size are often considered to be containers of medicinal ingredients for use at the royal court. In its major motif, overall design, and proportion of the lid to the box, this piece is closest to one included in the exhibition at the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka.
The technique of combining inlay designs with copper oxide spots under the celadon glaze appears to have been used in Korea during the twelfth century. Goryeo potters were the first in the world to use not only the inlay technique in ceramics, but also underglaze copper oxide in decorating their celadon ware. Copper oxide, applied under the glaze and fired in a reduction atmosphere, yields this kind of red.