Gerro

This vase is an example of Korean ceramics known as buncheong. The Korean peninsula is a region with a long ceramist tradition, of around eight thousand years¿ antiquity, and of special significance is this type of buncheong ceramics. This, in turn, was an evolution of the also admired green glazed ceramics known as celadon that, originating in China, was perfected in Korea between the 10th and 14th centuries. The buncheong ceramics, however, was developed in Korea only during the first half of the Joseon dynasty, between the 15th and 16th centuries. Of a greyish olive green colour and great graphic strength, the pieces of buncheong glazing covered in white slip often have a simple decoration with motifs ranging from lotus flowers and fish to more freeform abstract figures and calligraphic lines. As we can see in this example, the vases of this type of ceramics usually have a particular pumpkin shape, with very rounded sides and a floral decoration that extends all over the surface. The production of buncheong ceramics was halted during the Japanese invasion of Korea between 1592 and 1598 and, from the 17th century, Korean ceramics evolved once more under the Chinese influence of the time, which then was dominated by white porcelain and pieces of a single colour with little decoration, among which feature those recalling the form of a full moon.