Cylindrical tea bowl with lotus petal design, Celadon

Cylindrical bowls with a lotus petal design carved on the side are often seen as used in tea ceremony utensils.

When I first saw this bowl, I felt that there was something different from the cylindrical bowls with lotus petals that I often see, but for a while I did not understand where the difference in impression came from.

I wonder if you have noticed the difference?

What is unique about this work is that the base is faceted at the stage before the lotus petal design is applied.

The edge of the face is very gently curved, but if you imagine it without the face, the effect is obvious. The facing creates a ruggedness to the form and a material presence.

The sides are decorated with lotus petals in line carving, and the mouth rim is inlaid with a geometric pattern.

When the highly transparent celadon glaze peculiar to Goryeo celadon is applied on top of the lotus petals, the designed areas appear as if they are holograms.

This type of cylindrical bowl seems to have been used as a tea bowl since the time it was made, but it has also been familiar to Japanese tea masters since ancient times.

The aristocratic and tense form of Koryo celadon porcelain is a characteristic feature of this type. From a textbook viewpoint, the simplicity of this bowl may surprise you.

Even if we take a single lotus petal design as an example, the width and shape are far from rigorous, and it is almost as if we are catching a glimpse of the unique sense of modeling of the people of the Korean peninsula who produced Joseon dynasty ceramics in later generations.

This relaxed freedom makes these utensils tasteful, and makes them endearing tools for the enjoyment of tea.

The shifuku pouch is made of Indonesian chintz.

The deep reddish-brown color and the double serration pattern linked to the lotus petals add dignity to this piece.