Stories of Korea’s National Treasures 67
Photo Credit : Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea
Celadon Kundika with Inlaid Lotus and Mandarin Duck Design
(Goryeo Dynasty)
🏯 1. A Vessel of Grace and Purity
Among the masterpieces of Goryeo celadon, the Celadon Kundika with Inlaid Lotus and Mandarin Duck Design is admired for its elegant silhouette and poetic symbolism.
Created during the Goryeo Dynasty (12th century), this vessel is a kundika (jeongbyeong) — a ritual water bottle used in Buddhist ceremonies for purification rites.
Its slender neck, balanced curves, and soft jade-green glaze create an impression of quiet refinement, while the delicate inlaid imagery transforms the object into a meditation on harmony and serenity.
🪨 2. Form and Inlaid Craftsmanship
The kundika features a gracefully rounded body with a long narrow neck and a slightly flared mouth, designed both for ritual function and aesthetic balance.
Its surface is decorated using the celebrated sanggam inlay technique, one of the defining achievements of Goryeo ceramic art.
Artisans carved patterns into the clay surface and filled them with white and black slip before glazing and firing.
The vessel is adorned with elegant lotus blossoms and mandarin ducks.
The lotus flowers bloom softly across the surface, while the ducks glide gently among them, creating a sense of calm movement.
The celadon glaze gathers delicately around the inlaid lines, enhancing depth and giving the decoration an almost dreamlike softness.
🌄 3. The Meaning of Lotus and Mandarin Ducks
In Buddhist symbolism, the lotus flower represents purity and enlightenment —
a blossom that rises unstained from muddy water.
The mandarin ducks, often depicted in pairs, symbolize harmony, fidelity, and peaceful companionship.
Together, these motifs express an ideal world where spiritual purity and human harmony coexist naturally.
As a ritual vessel holding sacred water, the kundika becomes more than a container.
It embodies the Buddhist aspiration for a mind that is both pure and compassionate —
still like water, yet full of life.
🌿 4. Preservation and Cultural Legacy
The Celadon Kundika with Inlaid Lotus and Mandarin Duck Design is considered one of the finest examples of Goryeo inlaid celadon.
Its balanced proportions, refined decoration, and luminous glaze reveal the extraordinary sophistication of Korean ceramic artistry during its golden age.
Designated National Treasure No. 67, it represents the union of utility, symbolism, and beauty —
where even an object used in daily ritual becomes a work of timeless art.
Today, the vessel continues to inspire admiration not through extravagance,
but through quiet perfection.
💬 5. A Warm Reflection
“On this vessel, lotus flowers bloom forever, and mandarin ducks drift without sound.
It reminds us that true harmony is gentle enough to rest quietly in the heart.”
📌 Notice
The National Treasure number indicates the order of designation, not a ranking of value.
For more information, please visit the 👉 National Heritage Portal.
More Stories of Korea’s National Treasures
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