Bowl with Lotus Petal Design in Relief

1200s

Bowl with Lotus Petal Design in Relief, 1200s. Korea, Goryeo period (918-1392). Porcelain celadon ware; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of John L. Severance 1942.721 As early as the seventh century, the practice of drinking tea and wine became an important part of elite leisure culture in Korea. A wide bowl like this example was especially suitable for drinking powdered tea shaved from a compressed tea cake, the most commonly enjoyed type during the Goryeo period. The outer wall of this tea bowl is decorated with the image of lotus flower, a symbol of purity. The exterior decor that resembles an opening lotus flower was shaped in a carved wooden mold. Then the potter touched it up with incised details.