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Source Description
This white jar reflects values of frugality and pragmatism, political ideals encouraged by the ruling house’s government. The absence of underglaze cobalt blue decoration could be the artist’s response to the socioeconomic crisis caused by famines in the late 1600s. The Korean ruling house then enforced strict laws banning luxuries, including cobalt blue, to preserve state finances. Such challenges did not stop the artist from experimenting with a new aesthetics. The concept of minimalism, often phrased as “less is more,” is powerfully exercised in this jar.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
151444
label
Jar
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
151444
contentType
object
title
Jar
description
This white jar reflects values of frugality and pragmatism, political ideals encouraged by the ruling house’s government. The absence of underglaze cobalt blue decoration could be the artist’s response to the socioeconomic crisis caused by famines in the late 1600s. The Korean ruling house then enforced strict laws banning luxuries, including cobalt blue, to preserve state finances. Such challenges did not stop the artist from experimenting with a new aesthetics. The concept of minimalism, often phrased as “less is more,” is powerfully exercised in this jar.
date
1700s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79934944
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 34.3 cm (13 1/2 in.); Outer diameter: 31.6 cm (12 7/16 in.)
cul
Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
accession
1983.28
Source extras
tec
glazed porcelain
tombstone
Jar (백자호 [白磁壺]), 1700s. Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). Glazed porcelain; overall: 34.3 cm (13 1/2 in.); outer diameter: 31.6 cm (12 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1983.28
titleInOriginalLanguage
백자호 [白磁壺]
collection
Korean Art
didYouKnow
Known as a “moon” jar, this vessel is named for its circular form and color.
citations
citation
<em>White Porcelain Jars: Embracing the Joseon ideals and Rituals </em>[백자 항아리: 조선의 인과 예를 담다]. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2010.
citation
Kang, Kyeong-sook. <em>History of Korean Ceramics</em> [韓國陶磁史]. Seoul: Yekyong, 2012.
citation
<em>Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910</em>. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2014.
citation
Kim, Kyu-rim. "The Characteristics of White Round Jar in the 17th-18th Centuries of the Joseon Dynasty [조선 17~18세기 백자원호(白磁圓壺)의 조형과 성격]." <em>Hanguk munhwa yeongu</em> (2019): 153–180.
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. 87
citation
"Stories from Storage." <em>The Asian Art Newspaper: Monthly for Collectors, Dealers, Museums and Galleries </em>24, i. 5 (May 2021): 6–7.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 6–7
citation
McCormick, Sooa Im. “Playbook for Solitude.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine </em>61, no. 1 (Winter 2021): 12.
page_number
Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 12.
citation
McCormick, Sooa. "The Politics of Frugality." In <em>Forces of Nature: New Perspectives on Korean Environments, </em>David Fedman, Eleana Jean Kim, and Albert L. Park, 65–75. Ithaca [New York]: Cornell University Press, 2022.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 68, fig. 3.2
citation
McCormick, Sooa Im. "The Politics of Frugality: Environmental Crisis and Artistic Production in Eighteenth-Century Korea." In <em>Forces of Nature: New Perspectives on Korean Environments</em>, pp. 65–75. David Fedman, Eleana Jean Kim, and Albert L. Park, eds. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2023.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 68, fig. 3.2
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
sketchfabId
1f0a28465735411fb4292e63debf3ffa
updatedAt
2026-06-18 21:15:42.826000
sourceId
151444
dept
Korean Art
coll
Korean Art
med
glazed porcelain
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
9a341ef98f413b5a