Bowl with swimming ducks
- Audio guide stop: 325
- Gallery: Room 67
- Culture: Goryeo Dynasty
- Made in: Korea
- Date: 1329 (probably)
- Object type: bowl
- Materials: stoneware
- Museum number: 1936,1012.131
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a delicate bowl from the Goryeo Dynasty of Korea, dated to around 1329. It is a fine example of celadon stoneware, with a pale green glaze that shimmers softly in the light. The bowl is decorated with an inlaid design of black and white clay, showing swimming ducks, willows, reeds, and formal patterns. These are arranged in a symmetrical way, a signature style of the time.
Inside the bowl, the words “Gisa” are inscribed—an ancient way of marking the year of production. This lets us know it was made during the late Goryeo period. Such bowls were often commissioned by the government, and only a few survive today.
The exterior features swirling scrolls and stylized chrysanthemum branches, created using a reverse inlay technique. The colors remain strikingly clear, offering a glimpse into the refined aesthetics of Goryeo art.
See it in person
Bowl with swimming ducks is on display in Room 67 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and type its audio guide stop number, 325, from the gallery label, or take a photo of it, to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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