COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1985.112
AMICA Library Year:
1998
Object Type:
Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Far East Asian; Korean
Creator Dates/Places:
Korea
Creator Name-CRT:
Korea, Koryo Period
Title:
Basin
Title Type:
Primary
View:
Full View
Creation Date:
13th Century
Creation Start Date:
1200
Creation End Date:
1299
Materials and Techniques:
cast bronze with inlaid silver inscriptions, floral decor, and figural designs
Classification Term:
Metalwork
Classification Term:
Metalwork
Dimensions:
Overall: 17cm, Diameter of rim: 28.3cm
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number:
1985.112
Credit Line:
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
Context:
The designs encircling the surface of this vessel are inlaid in silver. This technique of cutting designs into a form and then filling it with a contrasting material to create a lively surface pattern was popular during the Koryo period and attained a high level of sophistication not only in metalwork but also in the ceramic art of Koryo celadons. After this vessel, probably an incense burner, was cast, it was turned on a lathe to finish the surface and make subtle adjustments in the shape. Then the roundels with poems, arabesques with central figures of children, and upper and lower border designs were chiseled into the hard metal surface. Next, strands of thin silver wire were carefully hammered into these recesses, providing the overall linear decor.The result is a surface design combining the decorative with the instructive: the four-line poems in the three roundels carry a Buddhist message. The form of this vessel is rare. Most Korean incense burners have wide flaring rims and sit on high pedestals. The plain foot of this basin contains an important inscription incised into its surface that names a monk-priest and the temple to which this vessel was donated. The two loop handles are Japanese additions applied when the vessel was later adapted for use in the tea ceremony. The military ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536?1598) ordered a Japanese invasion of the Korean peninsula in 1592 that wrought destruction throughout the country for a half-dozen years. Virtually all the country's Buddhist monasterieswere looted and destroyed. Large numbers of cultural artifacts were also brought back to Japan, especially ceramics and Buddhist objects that were genuinely esteemed by the Japanese. In time these Korean treasures became part of Japan's cultural fabric, both as individual art objects and as catalysts for aesthetic appreciation in Japanese society. M.R.C.
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1985.112.tif
