Accession Number
2010/2.30

Title
Duck-Shaped Vessel

Artist(s)
Kim YikYung

Object Creation Date
2004

Medium & Support
stoneware with iron oxide painting over white slip under colorless glaze

Dimensions
26 1/2 x 31 x 11 1/2 in. (67.31 x 78.74 x 29.21 cm)

Credit Line
Museum purchase in honor of Elder and Mrs. Sang-Yong Nam, made possible with gifts in memory of Stephen and Sara Stewart Rogers

Label copy

Kim Yik-yung is one of Korea’s leading ceramic artists. This vessel began as a wheel-thrown cylinder that she shaped into a square using paddles. After cutting and patching it—much like cloth -- she used a knife in a repetative, near meditative process to make facets on the surface, a process she compares to an act of puri cation, imagining “the akes of clay piled up on the oor to be the worries of the world.” The application of dilute white clay (slip) to the surface of the abstract sculptural form is an adaptation of a Joseon dynasty (1392–1910) buncheong ware technique. The form itself evokes a duck; it is a tradition in Korea to place pairs of wooden ducks in the houses of the recently married to represent good wishes for a long, happy union blessed with many o spring. The simplicity and austerity of Kim’s work re ect her studies in the United States, her knowledge of contemporary art, and her intensive study of traditional Korean ceramics. 
 

Subject matter
Honored as artist of the year in 2004 by the National Museum of Contemporary Art in South Korea, Kim Yik-Yung's peices draw on Joseon courtly elegance and combine abstract forms with a focus on the overlap between function and aesthetic.

Physical Description
This lidded vessel forms the shape of a duck, with a tail pointing from the rear and a head rising to face forward in the front. Qhite slip was applied with visible and long brish strokes, and iron oxide painting adds a rusty hue to match the lower, unglazed clay color.

Primary Object Classification
Ceramic

Primary Object Type
vessel

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
ceramics (object genre)
ducks (birds)
stoneware (pottery)
vessels (containers)