Jar with Scroll Design
Unknown Artist
1400s
Medium
Buncheong ware with incised, stamped, and slip-inlaid decoration
Dimensions
{"height":{"height":0.376},"outer diameter":{"width":0.27},"diameter of mouth":{"width":0.123},"diameter of base":{"width":0.141}}
Classification
Ceramic
Department
Korean Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1963.505
About this artwork
In premodern Korea, a newborn baby’s umbilical cord and placenta were believed to be a symbol of the life force of the fetus and thus kept in a specially arranged burial site. This jar was made exclusively for burying a placenta, a custom practiced by aristocratic families in Korea in the belief that it would bring happiness to the child.