If you have never seen a piece of Korean celadon pottery in person, then you have missed out on real beauty. Korean Celadon pottery is one of the most beautiful art forms in Asia, one that was almost destroyed during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945). The making of elaborate pieces ceased abruptly once the Goryeo Period ended (1392), which means that certain pieces are probably forever gone.

Luckily scholars began looking into Celadon in the 1950s and slowly started to revive it. It wasn’t until Lee Yong-hee who succeeded in 2003 (after 600 years) to exactly recreate the color and composition of the Korean Celadon. The making and production of Celadon pottery continues to this day, despite the somewhat low interest in this specific art form. I came across this art form by accident while reading about different aspects of Korean culture, and I have truly fallen in love with it.

Both Chinese and Japanese scholars have praised the art of Celadon making and Koreans for attaining such mastery of this art. Chinese scholars have said: “The aesthetic beauty of the early Goryeo celadon lies in its subtle beauty and elegant simplicity.” So impressed were the Chinese scholars that they called Goryeo celadon one of the 10 treasures of the world, while the Chinese artisans described its color as "beyond description".” (korean-arts.com)

A Japanese scholar stated: “To create the color of Goryeo celadon is akin to finding God.” (Masters of Traditional Korean Handicrafts).

Korean celadon is associated with the jade-green color but it comes in 3 different types:

• Cheong-ja – the typical jade green pottery known as Celadon pottery

• Bun-cheong – the brown pottery due to its brown or light brown color

• Baek-ja – white porcelain, mistakenly referred to as celadon.

Buddhism and Buddhist temples flourished during the Goryeo period (918 – 1392 AD), and it is when these types of vessels and pottery were created in order to serve various rituals. The technique was initially developed in China and scholars brought it back to Korea where it was significantly improved and finalized into the products we see today. The Chinese were equally impressed by their beauty which led to the Goryeo royal court to display many of these vessels in their palaces both for daily usage and as art objects.

The manufacturing process of these vessels involves 24 steps that take 70 days to complete for one piece. The last step involving the kiln firing requires the maker to carefully supervise the flames in order for that green glaze to be achieved. Celadon is made with special clay from various regions of Korea.

Goryeo celadon pottery uses designs and shapes symbolic of the spiritual beliefs of the Korean people, in addition to Buddhist and Shamanism aspects. Here is an image detailing the specific symbols and their respective meanings:

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Here are some examples of Korean Celadon pottery and other objects:

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Cheong-ja (Jade-green)

 

 

 

 

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Baek-ja (white)

 

 

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Bun-jeong (brown)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jade-green with red overlays

 

 

 

 

 

Celadon vase and bottle

(one is meant to symbolize the female body

and the other the male)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Incense burners

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teapot

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                                                       Buddhist statue

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There are a few resources out there if you are interested to discover more but it does seem that there are fewer and fewer artists who practice this art form in Korea, which makes every piece so much more valuable.

 

I hope to be a small part in the preservation of this art form, at least through awareness and education, in hopes of re-igniting the interest in others so that it can continue to thrive.

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For your reference, there is a specific Celadon Museum in Korea but many museums possess various items made of Celadon pottery.

https://www.celadon.go.kr/contentsView.do?menuId=enCeladon0101000000

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All photos and resource materials were taken from www.korean-arts.com.

Masters of Traditional Korean Handicrafts textbook was also used for reference.

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Thank you all for reading and let’s all preserve this beautiful art form.

#koreanceladon #koreanart #pottery

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