EXQUISITE KOREAN KORYU CELADON VASE, SIGNED, WOODEN BOX Start Price USD 269.00 Current Price USD 269.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Monday, November 03, 2008 End Time Wednesday, December 03, 2008 Location Southern California See more about 'EXQUISITE KOREAN KORYU CELADON VASE, SIGNED, WOODEN BOX' Description nahasaru Store EXQUISITE KOREAN KORYU CELADON VASE, SIGNED, WOODEN BOX EXQUISITE VINTAGE KOREAN (KORYU-STYLE) CELADON VASE W. INCISED DESIGN OF PLUM BRANCH AND BLOSSOMS, SIGNED       Welcome, and thank you for looking!       Today we are offering:      AN EXQUISITE VINTAGE KOREAN (KORYU-STYLE) CELADON VASE W. INCISED DESIGN OF PLUM BRANCH AND BLOSSOMS, SIGNED, INCLUDING ITS MADE-TO-ORDER PAUWLONIA WOOD BOX, ALSO SIGNED & SEALED       This very lovely vase was made in Korea in the 1960s or 1970s. Anyone who has been to Korea knows that celadon-glazed porcelain boxes, tea cups, vases, and saucers are available everywhere, in varying, sometimes questionable, degrees of quality. According to the little I recall, my uncle--to whom this vase was originally presented when he headed a peace conference in Seoul, Korea in the 1970s--said that the vase came from a distinguished art gallery in Insa-Dong, the "Antiquities Row" or "Portobello Road" of Seoul, where my uncle subsequently bought several other items for his collection of Asian porcelains.      The vase is signed on the underside by the artist (see photos 9 and 10), whose "art name" was Calm Ocean, which sounds very much like the name a Buddhist monk might have used.  Clearly, this vase was only used for display as a  cabinet piece throughout its life, since it has no use marks even on the  base.As can be seen from the photos, the vase itself is in modified ovoid form, with a short, slightly flaring neck.  Rather than the traditional and beautiful (but admittedly somewhat clichéed) soaring phoenixes and clouds in an inlaid under-glaze pattern of white, grey, and black slip, this vase was designed with a deeply incised pattern of a single plum branch sprawling jaggedly across the front of the vase. The carving of the incised design causes the near-transparent over-glaze to pool in the deeper cuts, so that in places where the glaze is deep, it seems darker, outlining and emphasizing the incised areas (in this case, the angular nature of the plum branch).  The blossoms were then artfully applied in under-glaze inlays of white and oxblood red slip (very rare, as the red tends to "bleed" into the surrounding glaze during the firing), before the final celadon over-glaze was applied. If you look at the blossoms carefully, the masterly control of the ceramist is very evident, showing the red of the stamens in very precise dots, while the white of the petals is deeper in the center of each petal, with a very controlled aureole of more  translucent white surrounding it, creating the illusion of the deeply concave plum blossom petals. The overall lightly crackled surface of the over-glaze, incidentally, is not analogous to the "crazing" on Western porcelain (which is the result of use, possibly misuse), nor is it the result of great age, but is a hallmark of many of the finest  Asian  translucent  glazes, especially Korean celadon. The reverse has a more conventional design of a native orchid in bloom, the flower rendered in white slip, with incised lines forming the orchid's leaves (photos 7 and 8). The vase comes in its own, custom made Pauwlonia wood box (photos 11 and 12), also signed with the artist's name and sealed with his "chop" in cinnabar ink. These signed/sealed boxes, with their strongly woven brown silk ribbons (made to secure the lids), were reserved for only the finest pieces. It is a practice still current today in Japan and Korea. Unfortunately, the outer silk cloth that the box was then wrapped in has been lost through the years. The vase itself, along with its box, is in absolutely perfect condition, without any chips, cracks, or flaws, other than what  may have been created in the marvelously controlled firing process. This is an exquisite example of the comparatively little-known ceramic art of Korea, and deserves to be added to the collection of a connoisseur who can appreciate its subtlety.   The size is as follows:   Vase:    Width of neck opening:                 1.5 inches (3.81 cm)Circumference at widest point:    18.0 inches (45.72 cm)Diameter across base:                  3.0 inches (7.62 cm)  Height:                                          5.5 inches (13.97 cm) Box:                                               7 x 7 x 7 inches  (17.78 cm)Weight (excluding box) is:             1.71 lbs.   (0.775 kg, unwrapped)       We hope the eventual buyer will appreciate this wonderful vase as much as we, and our families before us, have.      Auction-related information:       IMPORTANT: PLEASE WAIT FOR YOUR  PERSONAL INVOICE—DO NOT USE EITHER THE E-BAY OR AUCTIVA CHECKOUT SYSTEMS !!! 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