Ritual vessel {{fu}}, Joseon dynasty, 15th century. Buncheong ware with overall slip coating {{kohiki}}. Height 13.6cm; Width 31.0×22.0cm; Weight 2,680g. Gift of SUMITOMO Group, the ATAKA Collection, 00079, photo 六田知弘. © The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka.

This is the lid of a ritual vessel called fu, used in Confucian ceremonies. The saw-tooth trim on the foot ring (which was originally the top of the lid) as well as the protruding decoration on the four sides are traces of ancient bronze vessels from. The hakeme or brush marks made in white slip delivers profundity and gravity. Since the mid-15th century, Confucian rituals spread to the rural regions and thus the provincial kilns also began to produce ritual vessels. This piece is an example of such ware. The dignified form, omitting every excessive decoration surpasses the somewhat ornate bronze vessels. The discovery of ritual vessels in the same form with brush mark decoration at the archaeological site of a shrine in Yangsan-si, Gyeongsangnam-do unveiled how such ware was used at that time.