I’m going to do a post next week on Korean celadons, but since I was at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco last weekend, a veritable treasure trove of Asian ceramics, I thought I would illustrate a fun fact first: there’s a neat trick to tell if you have a Chinese or Korean vase on your hands–starting from the 15th century onward, at least, and as long as there’s a dragon in the design. Chinese dragons have five claws and Korean ones, four. I’ve been told the distinction has something to do with differences in Buddhist teachings between the two traditions, but I don’t know the real answer (Japanese dragons have three claws if you’re wondering). Here you can see the difference in a couple of nice pieces from the AAM’s collection:
Anyway, I used this trick to help ID a friend’s 18th-century Korean wine jar before. And now, here’s a random Ming vase for you. I’m generally not a big fan of the blue-and-white wares, but this one is just stunning IMHO. Very modern in its conception although it’s 18th-century (and profligate in its use of the expensive and difficult-to-process cobalt glaze).
The Rookery 