The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 25, 2022

Jar with Dragon and Clouds Design

철화 백자 운룡무늬 호 (鐵畵白磁雲龍文壺)

late 1600s

Korea, Joseon dynasty

(1392-1910)

Porcelain with underglaze iron

Diameter of base: 13.7 cm (5 3/8 in.); Overall: 34.7 cm (13 11/16 in.)

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1986.69

Location

236 Korean

Fun Fact

A mythical creature believed to have the power to make rain, the dragon is a prominent symbol of rulers in pre-modern East Asia, thus the image of dragons was used exclusively for the king's paraphernalia.

Description

A whimsical dragon with bulging eyes wraps his scaled body around this vessel. Freely dispersed squiggly lines represent a series of lightning strikes. Realizing the impossibility of depicting a mythical being in a realistic sense, the artist imaginatively visualized this supernatural creature with free-flowing calligraphic brushstrokes.

Provenance
?–1986
(London Gallery, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1986–
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. Masterworks of Asian Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998. Reproduced: p. 247
Jang, Gi-hoon. "Stylistic Changes in Joseon-Period Dragon Jars [조선시대 백자용준의 양식 변천고]." Misulsa yeongu (1998): 85-122. www.dbpia.co.kr
Bang, Byung-sun. Joseon-period Porcelains in Pure White [순백으로빚어낸 조선의마음, 백자]. Seoul: Tol Pegae, 2002.
Bang, Byung-sun. "Porcelain of the 17th-Century in the Joseon Dynasty [17세기, 인·숙종기의 백자]." Kangjwa misulsa (2009): 21-34. www.dbpia.co.kr
White Porcelain Jars: Embracing the Joseon ideals and Rituals [백자 항아리: 조선의 인과 예를 담다]. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2010.
Song, In-hee. “The Characteristics of Joseon White Porcelains Painted in Underglaze Iron-Brown of the 17th-18th Century: The Case of
Porcelains Discovered at Ancient Kiln Sites [조선 17-18세기 철화백
자의 특징과 성격-가마터 출토품을 중심으로].” Misulsahak yeongu
(2010): 77-110. www.dbpia.co.kr
Woo, Mi-nah. "Changes in the Characteristics of White Porcelain in Underglaze Iron-Brown Produced in Joseon Official Kilns [조선시대 관요 철화백자의 성격 변화]." Misulsa yeongu (2011): 241-273. www.dbpia.co.kr
Kang, Kyeong-sook. History of Korean Ceramics [韓國陶磁史]. Seoul: Yekyong, 2012.
Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2014.
Exhibition history

Year in Review for 1986. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-March 15, 1987).

Asian Autumn: Later Korean Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 22, 1992-January 3, 1993).

Korean Gallery 236 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 13-July 10, 2017).

Korean Gallery 236 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 10, 2017-January 8, 2018).

Korean Gallery 236 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 16, 2018-January 20, 2019).

Ink, Paper, and Brush - Korean Gallery 236 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 24, 2019-January 26, 2020).

Gold Needles: Embroidery Arts from Korea. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 7-October 25, 2020).

Creating Urgency: Modern and Contemporary Korean Art (Korean art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 22-October 23, 2022).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1986.69