Lidded Vessel with Loop Handles

This small storage jar was hand built from coils of clay before it was finished on a potter's wheel. The thick, vertical ridges covering the surface were impressed into the wet clay using a carved wooden paddle. This network of raised lines was then intersected by four incised lines coursing around the bulbous form and separating the body into lower and upper areas with deft visual simplicity. Such direct, effective design solutions to ceramic decoration appear frequently in early Korean ceramics. The two perforations in the upper body were no doubt used to help secure the lid to the body with cord.