A rare white ware reticulated flowerpot stand


Joseon dynasty (1392-1897), 19th centuryOf circular section with a flared lip rising from a short neck, a cylindrical body of lantern shape cut with alternating circles and trefoils along the rounded shoulder above a wide band of lotus blossoms and leaves, the lower walls curving inward to the foot ring and a pale greenish-white glaze covering most surfaces 12 1/4in (31.1cm) high
|ProvenanceAcquired at a house sale in Washington, D. C., 20-30 years agoFirst introduced as a decorative device in greenwares of the preceding Goryeo dynasty, from the seventeenth century onward openwork carving in Korean white wares reached a high level of sophistication. The lotus motifs cut into the walls of this lot are seen in two smaller examples; see Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, Richo toji 500nen no bi (Glory of Korean Pottery and Porcelain of the Yi dynasty), Osaka, 1987, cat. no. 62, pp.50 and 107 (24.4cm high, 17th-18th century) and Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, Yuen no iro, shitsuboku no katachi: Ri Josho korekushon Kankoku toji no bi (Color of Elegance, Form of Simplicity: The Beauty of Korean Ceramics from the Rhee Byung-chang Collection), Osaka, 1999, cat. no.91, p. 132 (28cm high, 18th century). A larger and more elaborate stand in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston retains the splayed foot of the smaller examples above (34.2cm high, acc. no.50.2141, late 18th century ) while a fourth example in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (27.9cm high, acc. no.2003-27-2, 19th century) lacks the flared lip of this lot, but is similar in several other respects.