Storage jar on cut-out pedestal foot

Subject Matter:

Long-necked jars, often with a pierced stand, were used for ceremonies and placed in the tomb with the dead. Burial chamber were filled with such pieces, which were meant to serve the dead in the afterlife. A great deal of our understanding about the material culture of Silla comes from such burial goods.

Physical Description:

It was common in the Gyeongju area, capital of the Silla Kingdom. The jar has a globular body, neck with straight sides and a little straight pedestal foot. Thick ridges encircle the mid upper part of the body and the lower and middle parts of the neck. The lower two sections of the neck are embellished with a delicate wave pattern. The low pedestal foot features eight square perforations at even intervals.

This is a gray, long-necked, high-fired stoneware jar with a pedestal. The neck is slightly splayed and the mouth curves inwards. Two horizontal ridges on the neck are formed by deeply incised horizontal lines. This method has been repeatedly used to form the other bands, one located on the center of the neck and the other where the neck and body meet. The section between these bands is decorated with a wave design formed by an eleven-tooth comb. The body is widest towards the upper-middle section, and a horizontal ridge, formed by two horizontal incised lines, is located slightly above this widest part. The section above this ridge is very smooth, but the section below shows traces of rough water smoothing and trimming on a potter’s wheel. The slightly splayed pedestal features seven square perforations. The pedestal has a slightly thick edge.

[Korean Collection, University of Michigan Museum of Art (2017) p. 51]

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