Jar with Grapevine Design in Underglaze Iron
Joseon, 18th century C.E., National Treasure No.107, White Porcelain
White Porcelain in the Joseon Dynasty
Jar with Pine Tree, Bamboo and Figure Design in Underglaze Blue Jar with Pine Tree, Bamboo and Figure Design in Underglaze Blue (Joseon, 16th century C.E. - Joseon, 16th century C.E.) by UnknownEwha Womans University Museum
The production of white porcelain in Korea can be traced back to around the 10th century in the Goryeo Dynasty, but the full-fledged manufacturing of high-quality white porcelain began following the establishment of Bunwon—royal kilns in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province in the late 15th century—which was an affiliated organization of saongwon.
Jar with Plum, Bamboo and Bird Design in Underglaze Blue (Joseon, 16th century C.E. - Joseon, 16th century C.E.) by UnknownEwha Womans University Museum
Saongwon was responsible for all tasks related to the provision of meals for kings and cuisines used for court banquets, while bunwon was engaged in producing white porcelains under the direct supervision of the royal court until the late 19th century. The Joseon Dynasty’s royal court established production standards for crafts to produce high-quality, sophisticated handicrafts, making great effort to put the related systems and policies in place.
Jar with Grapevine Design in Underglaze IronEwha Womans University Museum
White porcelain made during the Joseon Dynasty becomes dense and hard by being fired at the temperature of 1,250-1,300℃ or higher. Decorative techniques may include those using a brush, such as cobalt blue drawing and iron drawing, as well as those that employ a knife, including inlay, intaglio, openwork, and relief carving. White porcelain in underglaze iron is particularly baked with designs drawn with oxidized steel. It gained in popularity after the 17th century, and its understated paintings on a white background seem like an ink-and-wash painting from the Joseon Dynasty.
This white porcelain jar in underglaze iron is painted with the grapevines which are realistically rendered through the skillful use of shading techniques.
The handsome shape of the jar, the transparent quality of the glaze and the bold composition of the grapevines, reminiscent of literati paintings, make this jar the finest known example of Joseon white porcelain.
Jar with Grapevine Design in Underglaze IronEwha Womans University Museum
Jar with Grapevine Design in Underglaze Iron
This is a large jar with a grapevine spreading out its broad leaves drawn on the entire body without additional decorations as if its whole surface were a white canvas. The large-size porcelain completed by joining the upper and lower parts of the jar, produced separately, is not easy to produce due to the difficulty in figuration.
The varying light and shade of the grapevine are expressed in iron paint with free and bold brushstrokes, a reminder of a black and white painting of grapevines.
Jar with Grapevine Design in Underglaze IronEwha Womans University Museum
Art Historical Value of the Jar
In the Diary of the Royal Secretariat of the Joseon dynasty, records written in the 14th year of King Hyeonjong’s reign (1673) say that iron oxide is originally red and when exposed to a high-temperature fire, it generally turns black but also, sometimes, yellowish. This historical reference attests that obtaining the right color of an iron-painted white porcelain is not easy.
Meanwhile, this artifact showcases an excellent technique of taking advantage of such difficulty to create various shades, producing a naturally rendered design as a result. Although shards of white porcelains with an iron-painted grapevine design were collected from the royal kiln site, which operated during the 17th to 18th century in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, this jar is considered the only extant one featuring the practice of applying a grapevine design to a large jar, among both excavated and inherited items. The figurative and vigorous representation of the grapevines, reminiscent of literati paintings, distinguishes this jar from others with the same design, making it one of the finest white porcelain masterpieces.
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