Celadon Stool with Inlaid Bird and Flower

This celadon stool is lavishly decorated with a motif consisting of a pair of phoenixes with a lotus flower inlaid on the upper surface and a waterside scene containing a peacock, peony, plum, bamboo, crane and willow all over the side. The inlaid design covering the surface of the stool features an elaborate and realistic depiction of birds and flowers, and is full of the lyric and humorous elements characteristic of Goryeo celadon art. The use of gray clay to depict the peacock and the scholar’s stone is regarded as an outstanding example of Goryeo’s artistic sensibility. The artifact is the only one of its kind, and is believed to have been used by a high-ranking royal or an aristocrat.