Pedestal Bowls

Silla, Three Kingdoms Period
h. of right jar = 25.1 cm (~10 in)
Daegu National Museum
Daegu, Korea

By the time of the Three Kingdoms period (300 AD), pottery in Korea was fired in "dragon" kilns that allowed for much higher temperatures and produced a harder and less porous type of ware. Three Kingdoms greyware, with its wide pierced pedestals, derives from much earlier Chinese examples. In serving, the lids were everted and used as secondary bowls. Their knobs are pierced, like the feet of the main bowls. There are horse-head handles, instead of the more usual stirrup handles, on the right-hand vessel.