Accession Number
2004/1.218

Title
Pear-Shaped Bottle

Artist(s)
Korean

Artist Nationality
Korean (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
12th–13th century

Medium & Support
bronze

Dimensions
12 9/16 x 7 5/16 x 7 5/16 in. (31.8 x 18.5 x 18.5 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Bruce and Inta Hasenkamp and Museum purchase made possible by Elder and Mrs. Sang-Yong Nam

Subject matter
This type of bronze bottle would be used as wine or liquid container.

Physical Description
This is known as a pear shaped bottle vase with widely everted mouth, narrow neck that makes it easy to grasp and a round globular body that is bottom heavy. Five lines encircle the body and neck. Under part of body is damaged a lot. The foot is rather high.

Many bronze bottles such as the above two have been excavated from Goryeo tombs built between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries along with celadon vessels. This type of bottle with a long neck and widely flared mouth was also produced in celadon during the Goryeo period. The surfaces of both bottles are severely rusted, while the lower part of the bottles are damaged and perforated. The bottles have five rideges formed by attaching folded copper sheets. The foot of each bottle was made separately from a separate sheet of metal and attached later.

[Korean Collection, University of Michigan Museum of Art (2017), 243]

Primary Object Classification
Metalwork

Primary Object Type
bottle

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
Koryŏ
bottle
bottles
bronze (metal)
metal
pear-shaped
vase