This voluminous jar is lavishly decorated with an elaborate painted design of a monkey playing among grapevines, which resembles a painting by a master artist of the royal court. Over the years, the painted designs have become somewhat blurred as the thick iron oxide pigment has seeped into the clay, but they still convey powerful emotions, much like an inkwash painting. Hence, this jar is considered to be one of the finest masterpieces of Joseon white porcelain in iron-brown underglaze.

The jar swells out with a round shoulder, then gradually narrows down through the waist before flaring slightly at the base. The mouth is short and straight, a characteristic of jars made in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century. Using iron oxide pigment, a patterned band was painted around the mouth, while grapes and vines were skillfully rendered from the shoulder to the waist. Even in small amounts, iron oxide pigment can seep widely through ceramic clay. In this case, it seems that an excessive amount of iron oxide pigment was used to paint the design, causing the grapes and leaves to blur together. Nevertheless, the court painter’s skilled brushwork and adept composition can still be discerned. The clay was meticulously refined to remove impurities, as is characteristic of jars produced by court artisans, and a milky-white glaze with a subtle blue tinge was evenly applied over the entire surface. A slight indentation was carved in the bottom of the jar to form a minimal foot. The bottom bears traces of sand on which it was placed during firing.

All of these details affirm that this jar was made at the official kilns in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do Province, which produced white porcelain vessels for the Joseon royal court.

In the seventeenth century, the Joseon Dynasty suffered through a period of great turmoil due to several wars. But rather than succumbing to despair, the entire society banded together to seek new opportunities and overcome the scars of war. This situation also affected the world of ceramics. Reflecting the diminished social conditions, Joseon white porcelain of the seventeenth century tends to be greyish-white in color, due to problems with refining the raw materials. In addition, it became very difficult to acquire cobalt-blue pigment from China, which was then split by the conflict between the Ming Dynasty and the Later Jin (which became the Qing Dynasty). Thus, the production of blue-and-white porcelain, which had been very popular in the early Joseon period, became almost impossible, such that even ritual vessels that were needed for royal ceremonies could not be made. According to one record from the sixteenth year of King Injo’s reign (1638), the blue-and-white porcelain jars with a dragon design that were traditionally used in state rites led by the king could not be produced, and thus had to be replaced with paintings of such jars.

Due to these hardships, the official kilns were forced to reduce their staff and their output, even shutting down completely for certain periods. But even amidst such challenging conditions, the official kilns took whatever steps were necessary to produce some white porcelain vessels for the royal court. Unable to acquire cobalt-blue pigment, they compromised by using iron oxide pigment, which was readily abundant. While blue-and-white porcelain has come to embody splendor and luxury, white porcelain in iron-brown underglaze reflects the aesthetics of the era with its modest and humble appearance.

Some types of Joseon white porcelain jars were reserved for specific purposes. For example, as shown in the “Uigwe” (painted illustrations documenting state rites and ceremonies), jars with a dragon design were typically used to hold alcohol, other beverages, or flowers at rituals or banquets of the royal court. But aside from such special cases, other Joseon white porcelain jars are believed to have been used primarily for storage. Befitting this purpose, most Joseon white porcelain jars originally had a lid, although most of the lids have been broken or lost over time. What might have been stored in this particular jar? We may never know for sure, but we can still admire the jar’s beauty, even while it is empty.

In traditional Asian culture, grapevines, which produce many fruits from a single vine, symbolize abundance, while clusters of grapes symbolize fertility. Grapes and grapevines can also represent strength and vitality, since they grow almost anywhere and do not easily freeze in winter. Furthermore, the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese word for “vine”—“mandae” (蔓帶)—is a homophone with “mandae” (萬代), which means “continuity of generations.” Thus, grapevines also signify wishes that one’s descendants will prosper and multiply long into the future. For these reasons, many people kept paintings of grapes in their home to visualize their wish for family prosperity for many generations. But what does the monkey symbolize?

The Chinese character for “monkey” is “hu” (猴), which is also a homophone with the word “hu” (侯), meaning “feudal lord.” Therefore, designs featuring monkeys implied wishes for appointment or advancement as a government official. Perhaps this jar was once a treasured piece of décor in the home of a literati scholar who harbored such wishes.