Korean tea bowl

In use#

The Korean account distinguishes this bowl preparation from leaf tea steeped in a dagwan. It does not prescribe an Ido-shaped foot or loquat-coloured glaze. Dawan (다완, 茶碗) and chasabal (찻사발) refer to tea bowls whose material and profile need to be identified from the individual object.

한국민족문화대백과사전 · 차 · 다구 / 우려내기 · Cleveland Museum of Art · 1991.106

Form#

The open rim and interior are the features relevant to preparing and drinking from a bowl. The illustrated foot and glaze belong to one visual model. They are not required features of every dawan.

Working volume#

Measure the individual vessel to the intended fill level. Exterior dimensions and the form name do not determine working volume. Published product capacities belong to the named model.

Object and context#

The drawing’s measured reference is Cleveland 1991.106, a Korean bowl dated to the 1700s, overall height 8.1 cm. The museum discusses possible production for Japanese collectors through Busan’s Waegwan. That is a separate history of circulation and reception. The bowl cannot stand for every Korean powdered-tea setting, and its exact original use remains unresolved.

한국민족문화대백과사전 · 차 · 다구 / 우려내기 · Cleveland Museum of Art · 1991.106

In other traditions#

• Written with the same characters as Tea bowl 日Japan. Written 茶碗 in both Korean and Japanese; Korean bowls of the Ido and Kōrai types entered Japanese tea as chawan.⁴
• Influenced by (from that entry) Hagi ware 日Japan. JAANUS says Hagi tea bowls reflect Korean Ido bowls; Nipponica says many surviving pieces imitate Korean wares such as Mishima, Kohiki and Ido.
• Influenced by (from that entry) Karatsu ware 日Japan. Oku-gōrai bowls follow Korean Ido, Goki and Komogai bowl types; mishima-garatsu adapts Korean inlaid (mishima) ware.

Related#