melon-shaped ewer, unknown maker from Korea

Archive Label 2003 (version 1): Koryo potters drew a variety of celadon forms from daily life, shaping pots like gourds, pomegranates, ducks, tigers, lions, monkeys, turtles, and so on. The shape of this elegant monochrome celadon ewer, with eight lobed sides, resembles a Korean melon (ch’am’oe). The lid looks like a leaf with a delicately twisted stem. Turned upward, the leaf is incised with fine lines to suggest veins. The loop formed by the stem would have been used to tie the lid to the handle. Ewers, such as this, were used to serve tea or wine. A very similar example is preserved in the National Museum of Korea, Seoul. Archive Label 2003 (version 2): Perhaps used as a wine pot, this lobed ewer resembles a melon, which may have been served during hot summers while drinking cool wine. Archive Label 2003 (version 3): A favorite Koryo- vessel was the melon-shaped ewer. This elegant version has eight lobed sides and resembles the Korean melon known as ch’am’oe. The lid is fashioned after a foliated lotus leaf with a delicately curled stem for a knob. The handle is shaped like a twisted vine and has a small loop at the top from which a cord would have secured the lid to its knob. Ewers such as this were used to serve tea or wine.