President
"From earlier times, our country has enjoyed highly-developed porcelain technology."
During the Feudal Joson Dynasty, our people further developed the techniques of manufacturing Koryo Porcelain and made various chinaware with their own distinctive features.
First of all, their colours are clear and vivid.
The main colours are shades of white and blue and various others are combined to create different tones of colour.
Even in the cobalt blue, evening white and crimson porcelain, the ground colour is all white.
The colour of the white porcelain made in the Feudal Joson Dynasty is not an ordinary white, but it accords with the sentiment of Korean people and gives a comfortable and warm feeling.
This kind of colour texture differs in the light and shade of the ground colour and patterns of blue and red. And the clear and soft colour white with the purest pellucidity is in a perfect combination with the cool colour blue with the brightest luminosity.
The second feature is their various decorative patterns and dynamic but natural design.
Their decorative patterns were not bound in any fixed method and were produced in a creative and free manner. The designs of the patterns were also energetic and realistic. In particular, the design of the pattern drawn in a rough manner is impressive and progressive, reflecting the characteristics and psychological traits of our people and displaying the unique pattern of the porcelain from the Feudal Joson Dynasty.
The typical patterns are "Ten Longevity" (A decorative folk painting based on natural phenomena reflecting the desire and aspiration of people hoping not to age and live longer), "Four Gracious Plants" (i.e. plum, orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo) and other patterns of plants that can be found in nature. These patterns were widely used by our people not only in pottery but also in other arts like wood carving, pictures and embroidery.
Thirdly, porcelain from the Feudal Joson Dynasty is diverse in shape and class variety.
The porcelain was made in different shapes according to its uses, and so gives a sturdy and reliable look. This is one of the differences contrast with the Koryo ceramics which are sleek and supple.
The shape of porcelain from the Feudal Joson Dynasty is usually secure and well-balanced. This is because the ratio between the height, width, mouth, middle part and base was set for comfortable use.
During the Feudal Joson Dynasty, pottery got so interlinked with the people's lives that they became an essential daily necessity in various styles. Porcelain of this era were manufactured for tableware, stationary, cosmetics, indoor tools, ancestral services, utensils, building tools and other uses.
Just in tableware, its uses varied in brass bowls, porringers, rice bowls, bowls with lids, tubs, soup bowls, small bowls, plates, trays, acorn cups, goblets, kettles, teapots and so on.
In truth, porcelain of the Feudal Joson Dynasty are distinctive in its shape to fit practical use, different shades of clear and vivid colours with dynamic and natural patterns and its various shapes and sizes.
Porcelain of the Feudal Joson Dynasty was created by the developed ceramic techniques of our country handed down for generations and the great artistic talent of our people, and so, with the Koryo ceramics, are precious cultural heritage of our people.
