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Recreating a Moon Jar with ceramicist Dong Sik Lee,
Asian Art Museum
Vessel (AM 07 BW) (2006), by Koo Bohnchang (b 1953), edition 1/7, archival pigment print, 48 3/8 x 70 1/2 in, Amorepacific Museum of Art. The location of the original porcelains is in the Amorepacific Museum of Art, Seoul © Koo Bohnchang
shape can qualify. Although during the Joseon dynasty these jars were produced in a range of heights, from 29 to nearly 50 cm, the Korean Cultural Heritage Service officially accepts those that are spherical, unornamented, white-glazed vessels that measure at least 40 cm in height. Te height of a moon jar is usually roughly equal to its radius at its widest point. To overcome the difficulties of creating very large jars, the vessel was traditionally fired in two halves (upper and lower) and then later joined together, giving them a seam across the middle of the body, which produces a shape that is not entirely symmetrical or spherical in form. Tis organic shape gives the jar a more natural quality that some say is reminiscent of the moon itself, which often appears to the naked eye slightly misshapen. In the Joseon period, clean and
flawless white porcelain was considered most suitable for everyday use since it reflected the Confucian idea of valuing modesty and frugality. Tis is also manifest in the choice of glazes used in moon jars. Early moon jars can often be dated by their glaze and colours; white porcelain tended to be a snowy, creamy white colour up until the 16th century, after which they tended to have a bluish hue until the end of the late 18th century. Te white ceramics made in the 19th century tended to have a more greyish colour with a cloudy glaze. During the 17th and 18th centuries, these jars were often used for food storage, with their contents ranging from grains to fermented food. To explore this world and to link past with
the the present, the
• Lunar Phases, Korean Moon Jars, until 8 June, Denver Art Museum,
denverartmuseum.org
exhibition is showing 21 objects in total and features five paintings, two photographs, one video work, and one installation work. Te painting by Kim Whanki (1913-1974), Te Moon, Symphonie in White (1954), perfectly sums up the continuing fascination with this form of porcelain. Te artist used the motif of moon jars for many of his paintings. Moon jars are also the subject of the photographer Koo Bohnchang (b 1953), who helped introduce the porcelain to a new generation in the 1980s. Koo shared his thoughts with Te Korea Times in 2024: ‘I have always been fascinated with discovering the traces of time contained in objects and people, no matter how unremarkable they seem, and bringing out those microhistories through my camera lens’.
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The Moon, Symphonie in White (1954) by Kim Whanki (1913-1974), oil on canvas, 64 1.8 x 38.25 in, Leeum Museum of Art. Photo: Kim Hyun-soo/K2 Studio and © Leeum Museum of Art © Whanki Foundation-Whanki Museum
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Allegory of a Moon Jar, 2022-5 (2022) by Youngjune P Lew (b 1947, South Korea), acrylic paint and charcoal on canvas, 78 x 66 in, Denver Art Museum, funds from the Sam F and Fred R Davis Charitable Trust, © Youngjune P Lew
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ASIAN ART | APRIL 2025
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