Celadon Melon-shaped Bottle

Unknown artist

Goryeo Dynasty

Ceramics - Celadon

National Museum of Korea

A celadon glazed ceramic bottle with a melon-shaped body and a fluted rim. The bottle has a narrow neck and a flared base with vertical fluting. Widely praised for its translucent jade-colored glaze and unique inlay designs, Goryeo celadon ware was first made between the late 9th and early 10th centuries and reached its pinnacle in the 12th century. The celadon works of this golden age are distinguished by the elegant brilliance of their surfaces and the use of a creative new inlay technique, in which white and red slips were inlaid into the surface to form various designs with the contrasting colors. In the mid-13th century, the quality of Goryeo celadon noticeably diminished due to ongoing warfare with the Mongols, as the exquisite jade color was replaced by duller green o