KOREA FOUNDATION GALLERY

摘要

Say 'Korea' and a ceramicist will probably by reflex reply 'Moon Jar' - and will probably mean the example in the British Museum. Collected by Bernard Leach and given to Lucy Rie, that great white not-quite-a-sphere epitomised even if it did not actually inspire the whole Mingei aesthetic of unadorned peasant craftsmanship with the imperfections of hand-making - notably the bulge round the middle where the two halves did not quite fit - that serve only make it more nearly perfect. For years it has been the centrepiece ceramic object in the British Museum, and perhaps in the country.