Artifacts Excavated from the Tomb of Lady Jeong

Basic information

Designation

National Treasure No.172

Category

Craft

Era

조선 세조 12년(1466)

Designated year

1974

Location

용산구, 서울특별시— 서울 용산구 이태원로55길 60-16, 삼성미술관 리움 (한남동)

Coordinates

37.536528, 126.996187

Yeongin (a title conferred on the wife of an official of the fourth court rank) Jeong of Jinyang-gun is the mother of Kim Yun, who was a prefectural governor under the reign of King Sejo. Her tomb yielded ten pieces of Joseon white porcelain including cups, plates, bowls, a flask-shaped bottle and an epitaph slab. The flask-shaped bottle, 2.17cm in height and 7.7cm in base diameter, has a round and flat body. The mouth widens slightly at the top and the foot is slim and long, thus giving the bottle a peculiar figure. The bottle has a dexterous black inlay of peony and vine and has a thin coat of white porcelain revealing fine net-like cracks. The epitaph slab is inscribed with the record of the life of a deceased person and placed in his/her tomb. This epitaph slab, 20.4 by 36.6cm, has lotus leaves depicted in natural lines above and a lotus flower engraved between two oblique lines below. The inscription is in seven lines: Written in the center in bold strokes is "Tomb of Yeongin Jeong of Jinyang-gun". The date of death and other items such as her family are written on both sides. The form is almost identical to that of the Celadon Epitaph Slab with Inlaid Design (1435 during the reign of Queen Seondeok) in the possession of the Ewha Womans University Museum. The black inlay of characters and patterns is coated with white porcelain showing fine net-like cracks now. Judging from the clay, these are thought to have inherited the tradition of Goryeo white porcelain. The peculiar figure of the flask-shaped bottle suggests they may have been manufactured at Eonyang or Gichang in the Gyeongsang-do Province. The cup and saucer are all-white porcelain. The handle is shaped like a toothed wheel, which is a very rare example among early Joseon white porcelain. It seems to have been made as a burial accessory.

Location