East Asian Art JarMade in Korea, Asia Joseon Dynasty
(1392-1910), 19th century Artist/maker unknown, Korean Porcelain
with underglaze cobalt blue decoration 2000-80-4125th
Anniversary Acquisition. Gift of Colonel Stephen McCormick in
honor of the Korean Heritage Group, 2000 LabelThe production of
blue-and-white wares began in Korea around the mid-fifteenth
century, the result of influence from the Ming dynasty
(1368-1644) wares of China. In the early Joseon dynasty
(1392-1910), the Koreans had to import ore from China to make
cobalt blue. The first reference to a blue-and-white ware made
using Korean ore comes from the annals of King Sejo’s reign
(1455-68), which tells of cobalt ore being discovered at
Sunch’òn, a region in the extreme south of the peninsula, in the
“eighth month of 1464.” The king was then presented with a
porcelain decorated in blue from this native source. Blue-and-
white wares were mainly used in the Korean court and the
households of the upper class during ancestral rites, but they
were a