Celadon Incense Burner with Openwork Geometric Design
Twelfth century
A small incense burner in three parts sits on the backs of three tiny rabbits. The base is a plate with a cutout rim, the bowl in the middle is shaped like a many petalled lotus with chrysanthemum flowers pressed into each petal, and the lid is an openwork sphere of interlocking circles, a pattern called the seven treasures, with a hole at the top for the scent to escape. The whole object is covered in the soft grey green glaze that made Goryeo celadon famous.
Almost every celadon technique of the period appears in this one object. The lid is carved through the wall of the clay; the petals of the bowl are moulded and applied; the flower centres are inlaid with white slip; and the rabbits, each no larger than a fingertip, are modelled by hand, with their eyes marked by dots of iron pigment under the glaze. Look closely at the rabbits' ears and the tiny cross hatched pattern on the lid, then step back and see how everything comes together into a single graceful form.
The burner dates from the first half of the twelfth century, the golden age of Goryeo ceramics, when a Chinese envoy who visited the court in eleven twenty three wrote that the colour of Korean celadon, which the Koreans called kingfisher green, surpassed anything made in China. Such burners were used in Buddhist ceremonies and in the homes of the aristocracy, and the museum's example is designated National Treasure ninety five. It is the star of the celadon gallery, which also holds inlaid vases with cranes and clouds, animal shaped ewers and pillows. Few objects in the museum pack so much invention into fifteen centimetres.
Did You Know? The three rabbits that carry the burner are so small that their features were marked with single dots of iron pigment before glazing.
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