Fragment of a Bottle

last half of 15th century

The decorators of Buncheong ceramics likely completed hundreds of drawings each day. Despite that, the best underglaze-iron decorations have a spontaneity and economy of means that reveal the hand of a master. This fragment, with its charming image of a fish, came from a vessel type common in the early Joseon. Known as barrel bottles, these horizontally oriented vessels were used for the storage of wine.