Melon-shaped Celadon Bottle with Inlaid Peony and Chrysanthemum Design

Goryeo Period (13th Century)

This melon-shaped flower vase presents a form of remarkable complexity and refinement: the mouth rim opens in a flower-shaped profile resembling a cucumber blossom; the long neck is encircled by a raised rib; the body swells generously outward from the shoulder; a second raised rib articulates the lower body; and a distinctive, outward-flaring pedestal base — layered in the manner of overlapping skirt hems — is attached below. Bands of lotus-petal motifs encircle the neck and base, while a band of ruyi-head motifs adorns the shoulder. The body is divided into eight vertical panels, each decorated in alternating sequence with chrysanthemum sprays and peony sprays, all rendered in fine black-and-white inlay. The glaze is a deep, richly toned celadon with an overall lustrous finish. This melon-shaped flower vase is presumed to have been produced at the Yucheon-ri kilns in Buan around the mid-thirteenth century — a work in which the generous fullness of the vessel form and the delicate intricacy of the inlaid decoration achieve a seamless and exemplary harmony.