Wide-Mouthed Vase

1000s–1100s

Wide-Mouthed Vase, 1000s–1100s. Korea, Goryeo period (918-1392). Porcelaneous ware with celadon glaze and fluted and incised decoration; outer diameter: 14.5 cm (5 11/16 in.); overall: 25.2 cm (9 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of John L. Severance 1928.176 As early as the seventh century, the practice of drinking tea and wine became an important part of elite culture in Korea. Elites of the Goryeo period commissioned a variety of types of utensils and vessels including this handsome wine bottle, to make their drinking experience more exciting. The translucent greenish and bluish glaze of Goryeo celadons, shown in this vase, is the result of distinctive small and long Korean kilns, which maintained a low oxygen saturation with a high level of carbon dioxide.