Buncheong Flask with Incised Floral Design

Joseon Period (15th Century)

This flat bottle (pyeonbyeong) is formed by pressing both faces of the vessel into a flattened profile. White slip is applied over the entire surface, leaving only the area immediately around the foot ring uncoated; encircling lines then define the border of each face, and flowering plant motifs are incised across the panels with a nail-like tool in a confident, free-spirited hand. The side panels are divided into two registers, each carved with a four-petaled flower motif. The crisp tonal contrast between the white slip and the warm gray of the exposed clay body is one of the vessel's most striking qualities, and the boldly rendered, freely incised floral motifs — broad and sweeping in the manner of ginkgo leaves — impart a quality of fresh, invigorating vitality. A thin, pale grayish-blue glaze is applied across the entire surface with an even luster. This outstanding piece, animated throughout by a sense of vigorous energy, is presumed to have been produced at a kiln in the Honam region during the latter half of the fifteenth century, and stands as one of the finest surviving examples of the incised Buncheong tradition.