Bidspirit auction | 12th Century: Goryeo Celadon Washer

12th Century: Goryeo Celadon Washer with Inlaid Ruyi-head Pattern - A fine 12th-century Goryeo celadon brush washer from the golden age of the dynasty’s ceramics. Simple and beautifully proportioned: gently rounded walls, a steady base, and neatly cut foot—solid, pleasingly rounded, and quietly elegant in every line. Coated in a pale, limpid celadon glaze with a soft, jade-like sheen, veiled throughout with fine, silky crackle that deepens with age. Decorated in the masterful sanggam (inlay) technique: designs incised into the body, then filled with black and white slip before glazing. Inside, ruyi cloud scrolls circle the centre in continuous, flowing harmony; outside, delicate chrysanthemum sprigs dot the wall in graceful restraint. Beneath the translucent glaze, the patterns emerge in soft contrast—never bold, always subtle, perfectly balancing decoration and glaze, the very essence of Goryeo’s refined aesthetic. Technically assured, serene in colour, and harmoniously ornamented, this is a quintessential 12th-century Goryeo work: a scholar’s object of quiet beauty, embodying the period’s highest ceramic ideals.