May is shaping up to be a good month for ceramics this year. There’s this, there’s Made in Korea, there’s the Arumjigi exhibition, and a special exhibition at the V+A soon to be announced.
Puncheong: Crossing the timelines
Han Collection | 33 Museum Street | Bloomsbury | London WC1A 1LH | www.hancollection.co.uk
5 May – 3 June 2017, opening night 4 May.
This new exhibition tells the story of Puncheong wares throughout the years, spanning both vintage and contemporary creations.
Puncheong wares were made popular during the Koryo Dynasty (623-1392) of Korea and into much of Choseon Dynasty (1392 – 1910). It became known for its simple elegance and clear designs, which blended folk beliefs and traditional Korean love of simplicity in their creations. Many Puncheong wares are either coloured with white glaze or a brown glaze, with either incised decoration or simple patterns, motifs, and symbols painted on.
These wares were made for the lower and/or poorer classes in society, as the affluent and powerful used and had made for them, celadon and later porcelain wares instead; Puncheong wares could therefore be said to be the ‘wares of the people’.
They have stood the test of time and should be equally as celebrated as their Celadon and Porcelain counterparts.
This exhibition aims to provide an insight into a much lesser known but equally impressive ancient craft, that is still going strong today.
