Maebyoung Vase in the Princeton University Art Museum, September 2012

Korean, Goryeo dynasty, 918–1392

Place made: Korea

Maebyong vessel, 12th–13th century

Stoneware with inlaid decoration of crane and clouds under celadon glaze

h. 36.0 cm., diam. 21.0 cm. (14 3/16 x 8 1/4 in.)

Museum purchase, Trumbull-Prime Fund

y1929-406

Gallery Label:

This vessel, with its broad shoulders and voluptuous S-shaped profile, exemplifies the Goryeo vessel type called maebyeong. It is decorated with white cranes and clouds that presumably float in the "sky" of the celadon glaze. To create the special technique of sanggam inlay, a design was engraved into the clay body and then filled with white or black clay. Afterward, the entire object was glazed and fired to a celadon hue. While this maebyeong is sparsely decorated, other examples of sanggam are more ornate, with intricate, repetitive designs. Modern reproductions of Goryeo celadon frequently emulate the maebyeong vase type


Text from: artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/18727