05/09/2025
The Asia pavilion’s circuit is completed with displays of Korean art near the gallery’s entrance. A selection of ceramics from the Three Kingdoms (57 BCE–668 CE) to the contemporary period includes a finely potted, large stoneware jar from the Silla kingdom (57 BCE–935 CE), made during the 5th to 6th century CE, and a ewer in the shape of an oblong melon with a lustrous pale green glaze, a standout of Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) ceramic production (image 1). The longevity of the Korean ceramic radition is demonstrated by three life-size porcelain apples by the contemporary artist Young Sook Park (b. 1947). The startling naturalism of one of the apples, whose variegated colours are reproduced using a sophisticated copper glaze, reflects the artist’s absolute mastery over her medium.
Read more in Zoe Song-Yi Kwok's article "Asian Art in the New Princeton University Art Museum " in our current issue, click the link in our bio for more.
Image:
1. Melon ewer with lotus-flower design
Korean; Goryeo dynasty (918–1392), 12th century
Stoneware with relief and incised designs under celadon glaze; 20.5 x 18 cm
Princeton University Art Museum
Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund, 2010-81
Photograph by Bruce White
2. Gong (pouring vessel) with dragon-head lid
China; Western Zhou dynasty (11th century–771 BCE), late 11th century BCE
Bronze with matching inscriptions cast in the lid and belly; 31.3 x 16 x 1.36 cm
Princeton University Art Museum
Museum purchase from the C. D. Carter Collection, gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, y1965-3
Photograph by Bruce White
3. Decorated eared cup
China; Warring States period (c. 470–221 BCE), 3rd century BCE
Grey ceramic with glass-paste glazes and red pigment; length 13.6 cm
Princeton University Art Museum
Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund, Mary Trumbull Adams Art Fund, and Hugh Leander Adams, Mary Trumbull Adams and Hugh Trumbull Adams Princeton Art Fund, 2015-6732
