polity goryeo dynastygoryeo korea
Goryeo Celadon Melon-Shaped Ewer (Chamoe-hyeong Celadon), c. 12th century
Celadon melon-shaped ewer (청자 참외형 병), Goryeo dynasty, 12th century. Stoneware with celadon glaze; height c. 23 cm. National Museum of Korea, Seoul. One of the most celebrated examples of the chamoe (oriental melon) form in Goryeo celadon — a shape derived from ribbed gourd or melon and characteristic of 12th-century Goryeo ceramic sculpture at its peak.
Scholarly Significance
Anchor the Goryeo melon-shaped ewer (chamoe hyeong celadon) type — the emblem of Goryeo celadon's sculptural quality and refined glaze colour.
Notes
- ·The chamoe (oriental melon) form imitates the ribbed body of a melon; the ribbed sections run from base to shoulder, meeting at a central lotus-bud lid.
- ·The jade-green (biseok) glaze colour was the supreme achievement of Goryeo celadon kilns at Gangjin and Buan; the subtle blue-green was achieved through specific kiln temperature and reduction firing.
- ·The Chinese diplomat Xu Jing, who visited Korea in 1124, wrote: 'Among all the celadons made in foreign countries, the Korean (Goryeo) is the finest' — the earliest foreign testimonial to Goryeo ceramic supremacy.
- ·The melon-ewer form was used to hold wine or water at court banquets; the combination of sculptural body and functional use is characteristic of Goryeo court ceramics.
- ·National Treasure of Korea (Gukbo); National Museum of Korea holds the canonical example.