Celadon Pottery Vase with Openwork Head and Chrysanthemum Body

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This celadon pottery vase features a long, sturdy neck whose upper part is lavishly embellished with an openwork design, of which each arc is adorned with red-copper painted flowers. The voluminous body is decorated with fully-bloomed chrysanthemums inlaid with white and black slips as well as red-copper paint. One of the "four noble beings" (sagunja) symbolizing fidelity and loyalty, the chrysanthemum has been one of the most favorite subjects used for adorning craftworks as it blooms until late autumn, thus overcoming the frost.


Korean celadon pottery is renowned the world over since Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) for its exquisite inlaid designs, voluminous form, elegantly-curved lines and mysterious color, the color of the sky after a rainstorm during an autumn afternoon.