Floral-shaped Cup with Incised Chrysanthemum Design

1100s-1200s

Floral-shaped Cup with Incised Chrysanthemum Design, 1100s-1200s. Korea, Goryeo period (918-1392). Celadon; diameter of mouth: 7.1 cm (2 13/16 in.); overall: 6.9 cm (2 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of John L. Severance 1918.427 Both everyday objects and ornaments such as this drinking cup were standard for Goryeo period (918–1392) burial goods. Furnishing tombs with an elaborate assemblage of objects was believed to honor and comfort the newly dead. While greenish celadon works were mainstream during the Goryeo period, bluish-white ceramic works made of white clay such as this one were produced from time to time. Called kintsugi (literally meaning “gold joinery”) in Japanese, this method of repairing broken parts with glittering gold mixed with lacquer was extensively used for ceramic works in the Goryeo period, such as this cup.