Apr 20, 2012
Jan 28, 2004
Apr 20, 2012
Apr 20, 2012

Water Ewer for Rituals (Kundika)

Water Ewer for Rituals (Kundika)

청동 정병 (靑銅淨甁)

1100s

Bronze

Outer diameter: 13.7 cm (5 3/8 in.); Overall: 33 cm (13 in.)

Seventy-fifth anniversary gift of Robert Moore 1992.141

Location

Did you know?

This distinctively shaped vessel is called a kundika in Sanskrit, simply referring to a water bottle.

Description

Known as kundika in Sanskrit, this distinctively shaped vessel served to purify a sacred space and to invoke a deity. In Korean Buddhist art, it appears primarily as an attribute of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Gwaneum in Korean). By the 12th century, however, it came to serve as aristocrats’ fancy water container for everyday use.

See also
Collection: 
Korean Art
Department: 
Korean Art
Type of artwork: 
Metalwork
Medium: 
Bronze

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