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From the earliest times, people
have used earthenware vessels.
As time went by, glazes were sometimes employed.
The firing temperature varied between 500 and 1,100
degrees. Earthenware was used in Korea until the
early Koryo dynasty (10-11th centuries). |
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| Earthenware and bronze developed
in parallel through the prehistoric age, and then
the periods known in Korea as Silla and Kaya (from
57 BC until the 10th century), and Koryo (10-14th
centuries). The earthenware pottery of Silla and
Kaya is particularly noted for its formal qualities.
The earthenware was used for utilitarian vessels,
which were sometimes modelled into the shape of
people, houses, and animals. |
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Among the various pieces surviving
from this period, we can find vessels expressing
vividly the characteristic spirit of the Korean
people, a spirit that has remained alive through
the centuries until the present day. The facial
expressions are comically exaggerated, we find amusing
caricatures, as well as bold sexual features suggesting
use in fertility rites, a variety of concise artistic
details indicating a rich imagination.
Through such works the image of our ancestors of
centuries past has been transmitted to us today.
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