西川茂

SQUARE COVERED BOX, Celadon with inlaid phoenix design

DesignationImportant Art Object
Date1Goryeo dynasty
Date213th century
Height(cm)7.8
Width(cm)22.0×15.5
Weight(g)2620
CollectionThe ATAKA Collection
Credit LineThe Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka (gift of SUMITOMO Group, the ATAKA Collection), photograph by NISHIKAWA Shigeru
Accession No.00262
DescriptionAs there are rectangular box-shaped containers like this piece that store oil pots and covered boxes, this work is also thought to have been used for storing cosmetic utensils. In the center of the lid bears a quadrilobed panel, which has a circle in the center enclosing a pair of phoenixes, and the four corners are decorated with clouds and cranes. The whole decoration is bordered with stringed pearls. The lid and sides have bands of lotus petals combined with stringed pearls. During the 13th century, phoenix motifs began to be used frequently and motifs began to be expressed in a minute, schematic manner. Meanwhile, the underside of the lid bears a single lotus flower depicted with thin lines, leaving ample space. It is covered with celadon glaze, producing a beautiful grayish blue-green color. The flat base is fully glazed, leaving sixteen quartz spur marks.
URL for TIFF imageshttps://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xwmJyXSjB1vlLp_ziNeKF6irTaKqA1OD?usp=sharing

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