The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 9, 2023

Vase with Bird and Flower Design

백자 청화 화조문 호 (白磁靑畵花鳥文壺)

late 1800s–early 1900s

Korea, Joseon dynasty

(1392-1910)

Porcelain with underglaze blue

Outer diameter: 34.3 cm (13 1/2 in.); Overall: 49.4 cm (19 7/16 in.)

Gift of Yamanaka Shoji in memory of Jiro Yamanaka 1989.117

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Nineteenth-century Korean blue-and-white porcelains tend to feature broad shoulders and a tall neck.

Description

This vase with broad shoulders and a tall neck represents a typical style of 19th-century blue-and-white porcelain. Unlike earlier examples decorated mainly with literati themes that evoke neo-Confucian moral values—plum blossoms (purity), orchids (grace), bamboo (integrity), and chrysanthemums (loftiness)—porcelain works of the 1800s feature fully bloomed peonies and a pair of playful birds, symbols of wealth and familial harmony.

Provenance
?-1989
(Tregoning Fine Art, Cleveland, OH, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1989-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Choi, Kyung-hwa, “Stylistic Features of 19th-Century Blue and White Ware as Seen in Dated Materials [편년자료를 통하여 본 19세기 청화백자의 양식적 특징].” Misulsahak yeongu (1996): 77-107. www.kci.go.kr
Bang, Byungsun. "The Technology of Porcelain Manufacturing in the late Joseon Dynasty [朝鮮後期白磁의製作技術硏究]." Misul sahak yeongu (1997): 67 -104. www.dbpia.co.kr
Jeon, Seung-chang. "Painted Images of Late Joseon-Period Porcelains and Their Connections with Folk Painting [조선후기 백자장식의 민화요소 고찰]." Misulsa yeongu (2002): 255-278. www.dbpia.co.kr
Bang, Byungsun. "Park Jae-ka and Lee Hee-kyung's Views on Chosun Porcelain [楚亭 朴齊家ㆍ綸菴 李喜經의 도자 인식]." Misul sahak yeongu (2003): 213-234. 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.
Choi, Kyung-hwa. “Observations on the Relation between Designs on White Porcelain and Folk Paintings of the Late Joseon Period [조선 후기 청화백자 문양과 민화와의 상관성 고찰].” Hanguk munhwa yeongu (2018): 151-18. www.kci.go.kr
Exhibition history

The Year in Review for 1989. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 6-April 15, 1990).

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

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

Popular Art from Early Modern Korea (Korean art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 29, 2021-April 17, 2022).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.117