Koryo Pottery Was Headed For Kaesong

Chosun.com ^ | 10-21-2007

[blam]

Koryo Pottery Was Headed for Kaesong

Underwater excavation in the waters near Dae Island off Taean, South Chungcheong Province has unearthed some 19,000 pieces of 12th-century Koryo celadon, including a lion-shaped incense burner, a toad-shaped inkstone a melon-shaped kettle, and countless bowls. The find was originally made in May, when a fisherman found a pottery shard stuck to the suckers of a webfoot octopus, and an excavation got underway soon afterwards. The National Maritime Museum on Thursday said wooden tags unearthed in the excavation show that the celadon was on its way to Kaesong after being made at a local government pottery in Gangjin, South Jeolla Province.

The Cultural Heritage Administration unveiled 12th-century Koryo celadon excavated in waters off Taean, South Chungcheong Province at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Seoul on Thursday. The haul became famous because it was ¡®found¡¯ by a webfoot octopus. A lion-shaped Koryo celadon incense burner. The shape of eyes, nose and lips of its lion part shows the humor and wit of the artisans (left). A toad-shaped Koryo celadon inkstone (center). Wooden tags, equivalent to present-day parcel labels, bear testimony to how Koryo celadon porcelain pieces were delivered (right).

Among the find were wooden tags clearly bearing the names of senders and recipients of the cargo. The wooden tags are equivalent to present-day parcel labels for home-delivery services. Some of the tags read, "To In-soo,¡± a low-ranking military officer ¡°in Kaesong, from Gangjin," "To the residence of Daegyeong Choi," or "A bundle of pottery bound for the home of a certain resident in Kaesong." Choi Yeon-sik, a professor at Mokpo National University, said, ¡°¡®Daegyeong¡¯ seems to be the title of a vice ministerial-level official, rather than the name of a person."

Chung Yang-mo, a former director of the National Museum of Korea said, "These are the finest Koryo celadon pieces ever excavated from under the sea. It was presumed earlier that Koryo pottery was used only by the upper classes. But the latest discovery proves that Koryo celadon was widely used in Kaesong, and that even ordinary people and Buddhist monks used celadon bowls during the early 12th century."

(englishnews@chosun.com )

[blam]

GGG Ping.

[Red Badger]

They should have used FedEx...............

[blam]

"They should have used FedEx..............."

[Cruising Speed]

Pottery or porcelain? Hard to believe pottery would survive so well underwater for so long. Of course, 12th century is pretty early for porcelain. As I understand it, both Korea and China claim to have invented porcelain.

Either way, they sure did find some nice stuff--wouldn't mind having a few choice pieces for myself!

[steveo]

19,000 pieces of 12th-century Koryo celadon,... and countless bowls

this is why my brain hurts.

[ASOC]

Thanks for the post.

One does wonder, is it dishwasher safe? (ducks and runs)

[humblegunner]

They look like Pokemon!

[JimSEA]

I like the incense burner. It looks so similar to what is made today that if they had not been labeled as to age, I would never have thought them to be ancient.

[blam]

Celadon Porcelains Unearthed In Jiangxi (China)

[fishtank]

Korea ping!!!

.... I’ll be over to the Savage thread real soon.....

[Tamar1973]

TWSSG Fighting!

[ccmay]

With 19,000 objects, I would think they would have enough first-class collector's items to stock every museum in the country, and still release ten or twelve thousand lesser pieces to the private market.

I love Asian art and would pay big bucks for a few of these bowls, with their excellent provenance and condition. They could raise a great deal of money for the national treasury.

It is really a shame that so many countries are asserting "patrimony" rights over ancient art works that will only end up in dusty Raiders of the Lost Ark-style government warehouses, when they could be bringing joy to devoted collectors all over the world.

-ccm

[Rb ver. 2.0]

Good catch!

[fishtank]

..can’t wait til the DVDs come out..........

[fishtank]

How about some decent authorized reproductions??

[Tamar1973]

Me either. I’ll be first in line (and I’ll save you a spot right next to me in the queue)!

[SunkenCiv]

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	Gods Graves Glyphs	Thanks Blam. Quite a haul. I'll be glad when the deep sea floor is thoroughly explored in the Mediterranean, the Channel, the North Sea, and the Atlantic, with a view to finding ancient wrecks. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. The quarterly FReepathon is underway. GGG managers are Blam, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
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[NativeSon]

Kaesong after being made at a local government pottery in Gangjin ... communist/socialist that long ago huh?

[Artist]

There is an excellent juvenile fiction book called A Single Shard that's well worth reading if anyone is interested in Korean pottery like that found in the article.

Thanks for the post.