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Funerary jar: C.87 & A-1984

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Pottery: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Funerary jar with looped handles. Stoneware, thrown, with loops attached and celadon-glazed. The shoulder is sharply incurved, the body is rounded and tapers towards the base and the foot slightly splayed. Four small loops are attached on the shoulders. The pale greenish glaze is thinly and unevenly applied, so that the clay of the body is occasionally revealed. On the footring are traces of greyish-white fire-clay spur-marks and on the shoulder deposits of ash. The piece is accompanied by a replacement lid, of pierced silver, made in Japan in the late 19th or early 20th century, presumably to allow use as an incense burner.

Notes

History note: Unknown before donor

Legal notes

Gompertz gift

Measurements and weight

Height: 7.2 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1984) by Gompertz, G. St. G. M., Mr and Mrs

Dating

11th Century
Koryo Dynasty
Circa 1000 - 1050

Note

This type of four-looped jar would originally have had a slightly domed lid with lotus-bud knob and be used as a sarira container, to hold the ashes of a monk after cremation (like a later jar and cover without lugs in the Kansong Art Museum, illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 18, 1978, pl.180, see documentation). When in 1983 the kiln site of Yonggye-ri, Koch'ang-gun in North Cholla province was excavated, celadon sherds similar to this vessel in body and glaze were found, one of them dated to the cyclical year imsul of the T'aep'yong reign, equivalent to 1022. This is thus an important piece for the study of Korean celadon of the first half of the eleventh century.

Components of the work

Glaze composed of celadon glaze
Foot Diameter 5.6 cm
Rim Diameter 5.9 cm
Handles

Materials used in production

Stoneware

Techniques used in production

Throwing : Stoneware, thrown, with loops attached and celadon-glazed
Glazing (coating)

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.87 & A-1984
Primary reference Number: 15990
Old object number: 74
Box number: 74
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 11 February 2020 Last processed: Friday 8 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Funerary jar" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/15990 Accessed: 2024-04-25 01:43:45

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/15990 |title=Funerary jar |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-04-25 01:43:45|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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