Jar decorated with tiger and pine tree
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Tigers appear frequently in nineteenth-century Korean art, including ceramics, lacquer, and painting. Although symbolic of strength and fierceness, the animal is often rendered with a humorous, expressive face, as on this blue-and-white jar. Here, a single tiger sits tamely against a spare backdrop with a pine tree— a popular pairing of beast and plant. Late Joseon imagery of this subject matter, on porcelain and in folk painting, often also features a second auspicious animal, the magpie.
Artwork Details
- 백자 청화 호랑이 무늬 항아리 조선
- 白磁靑畫虎文壺 朝鮮
- Title: Jar decorated with tiger and pine tree
- Period: Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
- Date: 19th century
- Culture: Korea
- Medium: Porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue design
- Dimensions: 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm); Diam. of base: 5 13/16 in. (14.8 cm)
- Classification: Ceramics
- Credit Line: Lent by National Museum of Korea
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art