KOREAN MORTUARY POTTERY. 591 



The pottery in common use iu Korea at the present time cohsists of 

 three kinds ; the finest of white, pale buff, or bluish, porcelain sometimes 

 decorated iu blue and with a high glaze, is used for the table, and con- 

 sists of dishes, bowls, and bottles, also wash basins; the second quality 

 is a pale yellow ware, glazed, mostly made into bowls, undecorated, and 

 used by the poorer classes. It is very similar to the common kitchen 

 ware in use all over the world in civilized as well as barbarous kitchens. 

 The third style of pottery is of the commonest kind, made of dark 

 brown, or reddish earth, is glazed inside and out, and has little or no 

 decoration except a wavy line produced by wiping off" the glaze, leav- 

 ing the lighter under surface to show through. Some pieces have their 

 edges scalloped or fluted and are adorned with incised lines, but gener- 

 ally they are quite plain and without these ornamentations. This ware, 

 of which a specimen is shown in this collection (an oil-bottle, ]N"o. 94519), 

 is used mainly for oil and water jars and for the common bowls and 

 dishes of the Korean kitchen. House tiles are also made of this clay. 



The most ambitious specimens of this latter ware I have seen are the 

 water jars, huge vessels suggesting possibilities of concealment as great 

 as the famous jars in the Arabian tale* ; these are often greater in capac- 

 ity' than an ordinary barrel. There are generally at least two of these 

 huge receptacles placed just outside of the kitchen door. Another cu- 

 rious form is a kind of oven consisting of a shallow vessel with a cover 

 and raised some 8 or 10 inches from the ground on three legs, the whole 

 being made of pottery. 



The specimens of ancient Korean pottery, enumerated in the follow- 

 ing list, which I have called mortuary pottery, are unglazed (a few 

 pieces show apparently accidential glazing in splashes) ; they range in 

 color from a dull bluish or slate color to dark brown or light red. In 

 form they are archaic, containing many shapes not seen in the modern 

 pottery of the country. In some cases they closely resemble the an- 

 cient Etruscan, notably in the various styles of tazza, a shallow goblet 

 on a stem supported by a flaring base ; sometimes they are provided 

 with handles, but more frequently are without them. 



This pottery is of various styles of workmanship, some pieces being 

 modeled by the hand, others paddled into shape by an instrument, 

 others turned on the wheel,t while the larger and more elaborate pieces 



*In southerQ China, iii the vicinity of Hong-Kong, similar jars, though not quite 

 so large, are used for burial purposes in place of a coffin. 



tThe Korean potter's wheel consists of a circular table from 2 to 3 feet in diameter 

 and 4 to 6 inches thick, made of heavy wood so as to aid in giving impetus to it 

 when revolving. In general appearance it is not very unlike a modeler's table. 

 This arrangement is sunken into a depression in the ground, and revolves easily by 

 means of small wheels working on a track underneath, the table being pivoted in 

 the center. The wheel is operated directly by the foot, without the aid of a treadle 

 of any kind. The potter sits squatting in front of the wheel, his bench or seat on a 

 level with it, and space being left between his seat and the wheel to facilitate his 

 movements. With his left foot underneath him, he extends his right foot and strikes 

 the side of the wheel with the bare sole of the foot, causing it to revolve. — The 

 Korean Potter's Wheel : P. L. Jouy. Science : September 21, 1888, p. 144. 



