Korean Buncheong Lotus Design Vase

Choson Dynasty (15th Century)
Stoneware
Korea
H:20cm x W:23cm

This wine flask has sleek rounded sides rising from a delicate footrim. The main body is filled with a lively design of lotus leaves, the underside and rolled edges of which are both visible. Another lotus petal pattern adorns the top of the flask. Areas of the background cut away to reveal the greyish green body and incised lines (sonhwa buncheong) are used for the leaves and veins. The very top section of the flask has been replaced and is slightly darker in hue compared to the body.
Buncheong ware was highly regarded not only in Korea but across East Asia. It was so sought after in Japan that Toyotomi Hideyoshi (a prominent Japanese feudal lord), brought hundreds of captured Korean potters back to Japan to produce them domestically.

Provenance: Former Collection of Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Dingwall D.S.O. An Active Collector of Asian Ceramics, Donating large gifts to Victoria and Albert Museum, London in 1910 and 1937. He was one of the founding members of the Oriental Ceramic Society when it was formed in London in 1921.