Dish

1100s

Dish, 1100s. Korea, Goryeo period (918-1392). Glazed porcelain; overall: 4 x 14.9 cm (1 9/16 x 5 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Educational Purchase Fund 1924.140 Celadons wares used for everyday such as this dish were among the most common burial objects in tombs during the Goryeo period (918–1392). Furnishing tombs with an elaborate assemblage of objects was believed to honor and comfort the newly dead. Generally, Goryeo tombs were left untouched until the late 19th century. During the colonial period (1910–45), however, Japanese archaeologists competitively excavated the tombs located in Kaeseong, the former capital of the Goryeo period and soon became available for Japanese and Western collectors. The pale bluish glaze indicates that this dish was created in the 12th century, the time when the production of celadon reached its technical peak.