Celadon Sanggam‘jangjinju’simyeong Maejugyangryumun Maebyeong (Plum Vase)

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.1389

Category

Craft

Era

고려말∼조선초

Designated year

2003

Location

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

Coordinates

37.536528, 126.996187

This vase is one of the very rare celadon prunus vases inlaid with poetic verses. Between inlaid designs of willow and bamboo trees and plum blossoms, there are four vertically-long rectangular frames. Inside the four frames, poetic verses in fluid and powerful brushstrokes are engraved. The title of the poem ‘Jangjinju (Let Us Drink a Toast)’ inlaid with black slip is visible between willow branches on one side. The poem begins in the rectangular frame located left from the title and continues in frames located further left successively. The following verses are engraved and inlaid inside each of the four framed rectangles: [Amber wine in a shade of a pumpkin, in a clear glass, wine drops red like pearls in a small jug/Dragons boiling and phoenixes roasting, crying jade-like tear drops of oil/Fragrant breeze wraps us gently in our embroidered tent with silk folding screens/To the music of the dragon flute and crocodile leather drum/White-toothed beauties sing and slim-waisted beauties dance around/The dusk of our youth before we realize/The dazzling fall of peach blossoms, as though a red rain shower/Let us drink all day, to our heart’s content/No wine ever accompanies the ghost to his grave] The poem is by Li He (790-816), a Tang-dynasty poet hailed in his time as a poetic genius. The glaze has a subtle luster and is oxidized in some places where it is green in color. Crackles are present throughout the glazed surface, forming a web-like pattern. The foot was carved out from the inside in a manner to create a concave recess. The underside shows traces of the bed of sand over which the vase was rested for firing.

Location