Painted celadon bottle from Goryeo period

Name: Celadon Tube-shaped Bottle with Willow Design in Underglaze Iron

Period: Late Goryeo Period

Location: Yongsan District, Seoul

Status: National Treasure No. 113

This celadon bottle from the Goryeo period (918-1392) features a 31.6 centimeter-tall (12.4 inch) tubular body decorated with a pair of willows each painted on the opposite side of the bottle in iron red pigment.

The body is marked by a straight wall with beveled shoulder, with an everted mouth at the top.

The vessel has no notable decoration except the two willows rendered in a delightfully simple manner, exhibiting highly sophisticated aesthetic taste.

The bottle is also characterized by blue tints of the glazing around the willows on both sides, creating a painterly effect of trees standing at the side of a pond or a river.

A limited number of Goryeo celadon vessels featuring a tubular body as well as designs in underglaze iron red can be found today, and this is one of those rare pieces.

According to records, the bottle was purchased from a Japanese collector by the Japanese Government-General in Korea in 1931.