Buncheong Jar with Sgraffito Peony Design

Joseon Period (15th Century)

This full-bodied jar presents a form of generous, well-balanced proportion: an outward-folded mouth rim above a short neck; a body that expands broadly from the shoulder to its widest point before tapering steadily to a composed, upright base. The principal decoration on the body is executed in the baekji (slip-resist) technique: peony blossoms and leaves are first drawn boldly with a nail-like tool, and the white slip surrounding the motifs is then pared away, leaving the design to stand out in relief against the exposed gray body — the composition disposed in symmetrical arrangement on either face of the vessel. Pointed lotus-petal bands rendered in white inlay encircle the shoulder and lower body. A transparent, pale grayish-blue glaze is applied across the entire surface, and the base is flat. Buncheong ware of this baekji type is attested by examples excavated from the kiln site at Chunghyo-dong in Gwangju, and the piece is presumed to have been produced during the latter half of the fifteenth century.