The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Bowl

Bowl

1700s
(1392–1910)
bronze
Overall: 7.3 cm (2 7/8 in.)
Gift of Helen L. Marshall 1983.1036
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This bronze bowl may have been used in family rituals such as ancestral worship ceremonies in the Joseon period.

Description

In ancestor veneration rituals, deceased parents or ancestors are sanctified as spirits who are believed to oversee their descendants. Three times a year, once at the lunar new year, once at the person’s death date, and once at the time of the mid-autumn festival, food would be placed on the table for the ancestors, including fruits, rice, meat, and rice wine. During these ceremonies the worshippers’ attitude was as reverential toward the objects meant to embody the ancestors’ spirits as that toward a living parent. This cup may have been used for ancestral rituals to contain rice wine.
  • ?-1983
    Helen L. Marshall, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1983-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • An, Gui-sook, Korean Bronze Artisans [유기장]. Seoul: Hwasan munhwa, 2002.
    Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2014.
  • {{cite web|title=Bowl|url=false|author=|year=1700s|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1983.1036