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Source Description
This white porcelain vase is decorated with four Chinese characters symbolizing auspicious (hopeful) wishes—longevity, good fortune, health, and peace—each within a floral medallion. Such jars were often presented as birthday or wedding gifts, conveying the giver’s blessings for a long and harmonious life. <br><br>This object was purchased in 1981 from Kochukyo (壺中居), an antique gallery founded in 1924 in Tokyo, Japan. Many important Korean works remain in Japanese private collections, after being taken there during the Japanese colonial period (1910–45). Consequently, Japanese antique galleries continue to handle Korean antiquities, serving as significant channels for their circulation today.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
150464
label
Jar with Four Auspicious Characters in Relief
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
150464
contentType
object
title
Jar with Four Auspicious Characters in Relief
description
This white porcelain vase is decorated with four Chinese characters symbolizing auspicious (hopeful) wishes—longevity, good fortune, health, and peace—each within a floral medallion. Such jars were often presented as birthday or wedding gifts, conveying the giver’s blessings for a long and harmonious life. <br><br>This object was purchased in 1981 from Kochukyo (壺中居), an antique gallery founded in 1924 in Tokyo, Japan. Many important Korean works remain in Japanese private collections, after being taken there during the Japanese colonial period (1910–45). Consequently, Japanese antique galleries continue to handle Korean antiquities, serving as significant channels for their circulation today.
date
1800s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79932937
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Outer diameter: 22.1 cm (8 11/16 in.); height: 19.4 cm (7 5/8 in.)
cul
Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
accession
1981.3
Source extras
tec
glazed porcelain
tombstone
Jar with Four Auspicious Characters in Relief (백자 양각 주름·문자무늬 호 [白磁陽刻帶文字文壺]), 1800s. Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). Glazed porcelain; outer diameter: 22.1 cm (8 11/16 in.); height: 19.4 cm (7 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 1981.3
titleInOriginalLanguage
백자 양각 주름·문자무늬 호 [白磁陽刻帶文字文壺]
collection
Korean Art
inscriptions
inscription
longevity 壽, happiness 福, health 康, and peace 寧
sortorder
1
didYouKnow
This type of jar with auspicious characters was often used as a birthday or wedding gift.
citations
citation
Neils, Jenifer. <em>The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Museum in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1982.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 139, no. 143
citation
Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1981.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 69, no. 2 (February 1982): 39–82.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 76; Mentioned: p. 83, no. 137
citation
Bang, Byung-sun. "The Technology of Porcelain Manufacturing in the late Chosŏn Dynasty [朝鮮 後期 白磁의 製作技術 硏究]." <em>Misul sahak yeongu </em>(1997): 67–104.
citation
Kang, Kyeong-sook. <em>History of Korean Ceramics</em> [韓國陶磁史]. Seoul: Yekyong, 2012.
citation
Lee, Soo-mi and Park Hyewon, eds. <em>Korean Art from the United States</em> [미국, 한국미술을 만나다]. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2012.
page_number
Reproduced: cat. no. 73, p. 169
citation
<em>Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910</em>. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2014.
citation
Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, and 국외소재문화재재단. <em>The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Edited by An Min-hŭi. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 90
creditline
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
updatedAt
2026-06-17 11:19:44.637000
sourceId
150464
dept
Korean Art
coll
Korean Art
med
glazed porcelain
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
5f10924409c3691d