Ewer

Freer purchased this ewer from the collection of Horace Allen, a Presbyterian medical missionary who traveled to Korea in 1884. Allen went on to assemble a remarkable collection of ceramics, many taken from the tombs of Korean nobility. Freer purchased his entire set of eighty pieces when it was offered for sale in 1907. The technique of preparing celadon glazes, which derive their color from traces of iron fired in a high-temperature reducing atmosphere, was first developed by Chinese potters and began to be used in Korea during the 10th century. Especially noteworthy here are the naturalistic sculptural elements, such as the elaborate finial surmounted by a phoenix atop the peony-blossom lid; the vessel and its ornamentation are based on metal prototypes.