Moon jars have become national icons, inspiring the shape of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic cauldron and garnering record-breaking prices at auction. Thus it may be surprising that during the Joseon period these vessels were utilitarian objects, referred to as daeho (literally “big jar”), and fell out of vogue in the 1800s. Rediscovered in the twentieth century and called moon jars for their evocative forms, they are adored by many for unintentional features acquired during firing, such as asymmetry or the final hue. Because moon jars are made by joining two hemispheres, each example has a unique shape.
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Artwork Details
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백자 달항아리 조선 白磁壺 朝鮮
Title:Moon jar
Period:Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
Date:second half 18th century
Culture:Korea
Medium:Porcelain
Dimensions:H. 15 1/4 in. (38.7 cm); Diam. 13 in. (33 cm); Diam. of rim 5 1/2 in. (14 cm); Diam. of foot 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm)
Classification:Ceramics
Credit Line:The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
Accession Number:1979.413.1
[ Harry G. C. Packard American, Kyoto, until 1979; donated and sold to MMA]
New York. Asia Society. "Yi Dynasty Korean Porcelain," February 16, 1989–September 3, 1989.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arts of Korea," August 23, 2003–June 28, 2004.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arts of Korea," January 14, 2005–October 29, 2006.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Birds and Flowers," November 1, 2006–April 29, 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Buddhist Paintings from the Koryō Dynasty (918–1392)," May 8–October 22, 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Maebyông," October 30, 2007–March 3, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Beauty and Learning: Korean Painted Screens," March 11–June 1, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arts of Korea," June 10–October 24, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art of Korea," July 7–November 15, 2009.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Contemplations on the Moon Jar," November 16, 2009–April 25, 2010.
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Plain Beauty: White Porcelain of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910)," June 19, 2010–September 26, 2010.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Representation/Abstraction in Korean Art," November 23, 2010–March 20, 2011.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Patchwork Textiles Across Cultures," August 24–December 5, 2011.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art of Korea: Buddhism and Buddhist Art," December 9, 2011–June 3, 2012.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Korean Art," June 8–November 11, 2012.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Flora and Fauna in Korean Art," June 15, 2013–June 1, 2014.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Still Life in Korean Art," June 7, 2014–February 1, 2015.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Korea: 100 Years of Collecting at the Met," February 7, 2015–March 27, 2016.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Expressions of Nature in Korean Art," April 2–September 18, 2016.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Splendors of Korean Art," October 1, 2016–October 22, 2017.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Essential Korea," June 7, 2018–November 14, 2021.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Lineages: Korean Art at The Met," November 6, 2023–October 20, 2024.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012, p. 111.
When I first saw 25 Wishes in the Chelsea studio of the artist Ik-joong Kang nearly a year ago, my first thought was how wonderful it would look in the Met's Korean gallery.
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