Korean art is explored through many ways and art itself communicates the things of pertinence and importance of the era. Though a small country (of its own right), Korea had made its mark in the world of pottery. They date back when there were just brown pots of clay all the way up until there is white porcelain or paekcha, which was first developed in the Joseon Dynasty.
The prehistoric pots of Korea in the Neolithic period were just brown bowls that were flat or had a pointed base and had different incisions and decor made of cuts and they show a distant relation to the Lianing province and the Liaodong peninsula of China. The different pottery designs of the prehistoric pottery were commonly zigzags or parallel cuts which were given the name chulmun in Korea.
Later on, the pottery becomes more undecorated, but the pottery itself becomes thicker in material and there is a more variety in shapes and this also allows for different utilities of pottery: steamers, bowls, jars, pots, kettles, plates etc. It might be because decoration does not allow much utility of pottery itself that there are less decorations. There is definitely more clues of influence of China, therefore Korea and China must have had contact at that point in which the pottery showed signs of similarity in motifs in the design and make of pottery.
More later on in age, the Korean pottery is more gray and has more cuts for decoration once more (it’s making a comeback!) and close hatching style. A typical pottery of this age is the round bottom jar and it has small handles on the neck. There is signs of advancement in pottery at this age and they are becoming more skilled and paving the way for the Three Kingdoms Era pottery.
The high-fired gray stoneware was prevalent in Baekje, Gaya, and Silla kingdoms and the most popular were the stemmed cup, bowls with wide stands (kobae), long-necked jars (changgyong ho), horned cup stands (kurut pachim) and more. The ceramics at this age are more elaborate and elegant and fine in detail. Technology was advanced enough to support such fine pottery and therefore one can infer there is advancement not just in pottery, but likely in all aspects, and it can be inferred that literacy increased at this point, but at this point, the Korean language itself hasn’t been born just yet, but this will pave the way for the government and the kings and citizens to thirst for their own language of their own as they pave their own culture and pottery.
In the Goryeo Dynasty, the celadon ceramics were produced and it was regarded as the finest and most elegant pottery at that era. They were first produced in China, and at this point it is known that China and Korea has contact and influence one another, but more often than not, China has more influence to Korea at this point than anything else, but Korea adapts the pottery style and designs to their own liking and taste. Korean pottery weren’t the finest, but the Korean celadon later were even finer than those of China. The popularity were proven by themselves in the tombs of royals although the Mongols have ruined most of the Korean celadon ceramics made of that century. This paved way for the Buncheong Wares and these were blue-green ceramics covered with a white slip. They were similar to celadons but later, they proliferated to have their own regional twist and idiosyncrasies. The shapes include mahyeong vases, which are bulbous vases with tall necks and cylinder flasks with a single top spout and a flat turtle-shaped bottles with a small spout.
A by-product of the buncheong was the maksabal which used clay that was not good enough to be used for buncheong. They were considered low in quality, but another way to do pottery and art. It was also a good common vessel for function. They were used for storage (onggi) and they stored food and pastes, and soy sauce. They were often buried underground aor even used as bathrooms.
Now fast forward to the Joseon Dynasty, we have the white porcelain which is much more durable and perfected and whiter than any other Korean ceramics and became popular even in China.
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