Developments in Chosŏn White Porcelain with 祭 Inscription: focus on excavations at royal kilns

Abstract

White porcelain with 祭(<i>che</i>, ritual), 壽(<i>su</i>, longevity), or 福(<i>pok</i>, good fortune) inscriptions made in Chosŏn royal kilns vary in when and how the letters were written, according their prouction date. From the second quarter of the eighteenth century, when the royal kilns at Kŭmsa-ri were in production, they increased in number and important changes were made to their styles. Firstly, before the 1560s, the letter 祭 was written with brush or incised at the office where the plates were used, but after the 1560s, it was inscribed at the kilns to mark their purposes as ritual. In contrast, the letters 壽 and 福, inscribed to wish for longevity and good fortune were always written at the kilns from their early years until the privatization of the kilns, showing that different letters were written at different moments of production. Secondly, how and where on the plates the letters 祭, 壽, and 福 were written differ according to the underglaze used. From the seventeenth century, the letters were exclusively written in underglaze iron-brown or cobalt blue. Most examples in underglaze iron-brown were written on the underside, inside the foot without a cartouche, or on the inside bottom of a bowl. But those written in underglaze cobalt blue are written on the inside bottom of a bowl with a circle-shaped cartouche. Thirdly, the changes to the shapes of the plates can be seen most clearly in the examples from the royal kilns at Kŭmsa-ri and Punwŏn-ri. Plates with polygonal-shaped high foot and body are characteristic of Kŭmsa-ri kilns, but this style appears only with 福 inscriptions — the plates marked with the letter 祭 have circular foots. However, in the case of Punwŏn-ri kilns, plates with both 祭 and 福 inscriptions were made in the same polygonal style as those of Kŭmsa-ri. There were also 祭 plates with high, circular foots, providing information for its stylistic changes. It is also notable that no royal kilns marked polygonal-shaped plates with the letter 壽.