Square-shaped Bottle with the Scenery of the Han River

백자 청화 산수무늬 사각병 (白磁靑畫山水文四角甁)

1800s

Korea, Joseon dynasty

(1392–1910)

porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue decoration

Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1986.86

You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Did You Know?

The Han River is the principal river crossing the center of Seoul.

Description

The depicted scenery of this bottle is the Han River, the principal river crossing the center of Seoul. Since the 1700s, Korean artists began to paint the real landscape of Korea instead of imaginary ones of the Chinese tradition. This blue-and-white porcelain bottle is presumably a water dropper for ink. Each facet was separately made and put together before firing in a kiln. Both the landscape motif and faceted bottle were in vogue in the late 19th century, largely produced to meet the growing demand from the elite class.