Basin with Inscribed Figures and Calligraphy
1100s–1200s
Maker Unknown
Korean Art
Basin with Inscribed Figures and Calligraphy, 1100s–1200s. Korea, Goryeo period (918-1392). Bronze; overall: 17 cm (6 11/16 in.); diameter of mouth with rim: 21.7 cm (8 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1985.112 This bronze basin may have been used for containing purified water. What makes this work charming is its intricate decoration done in silver inlay: the five-character, four-line poems interspersed among images of a child. The poems, which evoke the concept of nonattachment and nonduality, were written by Buddhist monks. A child, one of the main decorative elements for this basin, is possibly a young Buddhist pilgrim named Sudhana, who took a long spiritual journey to search for enlightenment.
- Maker/Artist
- Maker Unknown
- Classification
- Metalwork
- Formatted Medium
- bronze
- Medium
- bronze
- Dimensions
- Overall: 17 cm (6 11/16 in.); Diameter of mouth with rim: 21.7 cm (8 9/16 in.)
- Inscribed
- Inscription: Each of the three roundels contain five-character, four-line poems with Buddhist messages.
- Departments
- Korean Art
- Accession Number
- 1985.112
- Credit Line
- Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
- Exhibitions
- The Year in Review for 1985, Scholar's Studio, Korean Art from the United States, <em>Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 119)</em>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 16–October 28, 2003).
- Rights Statement
- CC0
- Museum Location
- 236 Korean
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