The Korea’s Joseon Dynasty’s White Porcelain Gentleman’s Orientation (君子志向),’ an exhibition of national treasure Joseon white porcelains, is being held from the 28th to May 28th at the special exhibition room of the Leeum Museum of Art. I had time over the weekend and went to the exhibition.
This is a special exhibition on ceramics. In the special exhibition, 10 national treasures and 21 treasures are displayed. This is more than half of the 18 national treasures and 41 treasures belonging to Joseon white porcelain among the nationally designated cultural properties. For this exhibition, 34 pieces of fine white porcelain specially imported from Japan and overseas were included. A total of 185 works is on display.
According to Leeum Museum, the purpose of this exhibition was to comprehensively introduce the vast amount of Joseon white porcelain and to give a glimpse into the history of Joseon and the spiritual world of the people of that era reflected in the work.
I don’t know which one is worth more and which one is not. The white porcelain of the Joseon Dynasty was the exclusive property of the royal family and the noble class, and it is strange that I, a common man, can see this luxurious exhibition in modern times, as it is far from common people.
According to Leeum, the purpose of this exhibition is to comprehensively introduce the vast amount of Joseon white porcelain, as well as to give a glimpse into the history of Joseon and the spiritual world of the people of that era reflected in the work.
White porcelain was a highly valued type of pottery that was made from “Jil”, which is a mixture of silica sand and aluminum oxide.
To create white porcelain, the Jil was coated with feldspar lye and baked at a high temperature of 1,300℃ to 1,350℃.
The quality of white porcelain was determined by the absence or minimal amount of iron in the clay and glaze used.
If iron was present, the resulting porcelain would have various colors such as gray, black, brown, yellow, gray-blue, or blue, and would not be considered good quality.
In order to create good quality white porcelain, the raw materials used needed to have no impurities such as iron, or the impurities needed to be filtered out.
However, it was almost impossible to find raw materials that did not contain trace amounts of iron, so each unique white porcelain was produced depending on the age, region, and kiln.
The amount of iron present in the clay and glaze affected the color of the porcelain during firing.
If there was a lot of oxygen supply during firing, the iron would oxidize and turn brown or yellow.
If there was less oxygen supply, the iron would turn into its original blue color, resulting in a gray-blue or light blue porcelain.
Joseon’s white porcelain changes over time to blue and white porcelain, iron and copper porcelain, and pure white porcelain.
Blue and white porcelain, which used blue and white pigments that were equivalent to the price of gold at the time, was mainly used by the royal family and was a tool to enhance the dignity and dignity of the royal family.
The design is also elaborate and splendid like an ink-and-wash painting.
On the other hand, iron and white porcelain were mainly produced in the 17th century.
Iron or copper was a cheaper and easily obtainable material than blue and white pigments.
It was often used before, but there was a perception that it was not a high-end material.
In the 17th century Joseon, there is a historical background that the entire country was in trouble as a great famine followed the Japanese invasion and, after that, the Chinese invasion.
It must have been inevitable that other inexpensive materials would come to the fore instead of expensive pigments called ‘blue and white’.
My impression of seeing the white porcelain exhibition is that the soft reflected light of the white porcelain in the splendid lighting warms my heart. Tomorrow will also be a tiring and busy day, but I try to enjoy the little room and luxury in my life.
