A TALL KOREAN CELADON VASE

A TALL KOREAN CELADON VASE, MAEBYEONG

KORYO DYNASTY, 12TH/13TH CENTURY

The elegant baluster-shaped body decorated to the side with three incised leafy flowerheads, possibly lotus; the shoulder with three scalloped lappets resembling clouds; the surface covered with a rich crackled celadon glaze, 31cm.

See the Cleveland Museum of Art, access. no.1921.628 for a Koryo wine pot with comparable lotus decoration, and access. no.1921.645 for another vase of the same size. Also, see Christie's New York, Japanese and Korean Art, 22nd September 2020, lot 243, for another maebyeong with incised lotus.

Provenance: from an English private collection, London.

This type of vessel was once used to store alcohol and had a lid that would also serve as a cup.