Celadon Bowl

From the museum

As early as the seventh century, the practice of drinking tea and wine became an important part of elite leisure culture in Korea. A wide bowl like this example was especially suitable for drinking powdered tea shaved from a compressed tea cake, the most commonly enjoyed type during the Goryeo period. Crackling occurs when the glaze contracts more rapidly than the clay body during the firing process. In the context of celadon bowls, this phenomenon is not regarded as a flaw but rather as a highly valued aesthetic feature—one that evokes a sense of age.

The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC0