A SLIP-INLAID ‘CHILDREN AND GRAPEVINES’ CELADON EWER, GORYEO DYNASTY (918-1392)
Korea, 13th century. The smooth, curved double gourd form supported on a short foot has a long, slender spout, a narrow mouth atop its smaller bulb, and a finely molded twisted-cord handle with a small ring for suspension. The body of the two bulbs is decorated using black and white slip inlay with a continuous frame of winegrowers alongside children tending to the large vines with grape bunches. The foot is decorated with stylized lotus petals, the mouth with lappets beneath a key-fret band, and the spout and handle with geometric dotted lines.


Provenance:
From a private collection in France.

Condition:
Condition commensurate with age, showing expected old wear and firring irregularities, such as glaze recesses, pitting, and minuscule chips to the glaze at the mouth and foot. Minute losses and several cracks, some with old repairs. The minuscule lid on top of the ewer is lost. Please request a UV light video for more details.

Weight: 2,034 g
Dimensions: Height 35 cm


The National Museum of Korea
suggests that this kind of ewer was produced at a celadon kiln in Yucheon-ri, boan-myeon, or buan-gun in the north Jeolla-do province. They are decorated using the art of sanggam, which involves etching desired patterns onto dry clay and filling the carved spaces with black and/or white slip. After that, a translucent glaze is applied, and the vessel is fired.


Wine made from grapes reached eastern Asia
for the first time during the Hellenistic period (321-32 BC). It became highly popular in China 600 years later during the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD) and historians believe it attracted mainstream interest in Korea only after Jesuit missionaries imported it at the beginning of the 17th century. However, it is known that it was available to elite circles much earlier, which explains the rarity of the design on the present ewer to some extent.


Literature comparison:

Compare a near identical wine ewer with the same decorations and motif, 36 cm high, dated to the Goryeo dynasty, in the National Museum of Korea, accession number Deoksu 19. Compare a closely related celadon ewer with a landscape design, 36 cm high, dated to the Goryeo dynasty, in the National Museum of Korea, accession number Deoksu 91. Compare a related celadon gourd-shaped ewer, 29.8 cm high, dated to the Goryeo dynasty, in the National Museum of Korea, accession number Deoksu 6236.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 22 March 2002, lot 192
Price: USD 14,100 or approx.
EUR 22,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A inlaid celadon stoneware ewer, Goryeo dynasty
Expert remark: Note the related style of slip inlay and the similar form. Note the size (34 cm).




高麗王朝内嵌童戲葡萄紋青瓷執壺


韓國, 十三世紀。壺身呈葫蘆形，短平足，壺流細長，壺口較小，執柄成絞繩狀，帶有一個用於懸掛的小環。壺身上下兩部分分別内嵌裝飾葡萄豐收與葡萄藤下兒童戲耍的場景。壺口倒蓮紋對應足部蓮瓣紋。壺流與執柄上點綴連珠紋。


來源：
法國私人收藏。

品相：
狀況極好，有磨損和一些燒製不規則、釉面凹陷、麻點，以及口部和足部釉面的微小磕損。小缺損、裂痕和小修補。水壺頂部的小蓋子遺失。請索取紫外線視頻以了解更多詳細信息。

重量：2,034 克
尺寸：高 35 厘米


韓國國家博物館
認爲這種壺是在全羅北道保安面柳川里或扶安郡的一個青瓷窯生產的。它們採用嵌入式釉漿技術進行裝飾，粘土坯體的表面須經雕刻，凹陷處用對比明顯的顏料充填並在施加薄層高透明青釉前打磨平滑。


在希臘化時期（公元前 321-32 年）
，用葡萄釀造的酒首次到達東亞。 600 年後在唐朝（公元 618-907 年）非常流行，歷史學家認為，直到十七世紀初耶穌會傳教士將其引入韓國後，它才引起了韓國主流的興趣。 但眾所周知，它的出現在貴族階層應該更早，這在一定程度上解釋了目前該壺設計的稀有性。


文獻比較：


比較一件幾乎相同的高麗王朝酒壺，高36 釐米，收藏於韓國國立中央博物館，館藏編號Deoksu 19。比較一件非常相近的高麗王朝青釉山水壺，高36 釐米，收藏於韓國國立中央博物館，館藏編號Deoksu 91。比較一件相近的青釉葫蘆壺，高29.8 釐米，收藏於韓國國立中央博物館，館藏編號Deoksu 6236。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2002年3月22日，lot 192
價格：USD 14,100（相當於今日
EUR 22,500
）
描述：高麗王朝青釉鑲嵌炻壺
專家評論：請注意相近的風格和相似的外形。請注意尺寸 (34 釐米)。