Saucer with Inlaid Chrysanthemum Design

1200s

Saucer with Inlaid Chrysanthemum Design, 1200s. Korea, Goryeo period (918-1392). Pottery; diameter of mouth: 13.5 cm (5 5/16 in.); overall: 3.8 cm (1 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of John L. Severance 1918.448 During the Goryeo period (918–1392), about 260 kilns operated in mainly Jeolla and Chungcheong provinces, meeting a high consumer demand. Celadon wares for everyday use such as this dish were among the most common burial objects in elites' tombs. 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 these wares soon became available for Japanese and Western collectors. On the base of this tea bowl, three small spur marks made of bits of clay remain visible, indicating an individual protective casing of fire clay (saggar).