Refined towards imperfection – a ceramic artist recreates a rare Korean treasure

Originally made during the latter years of Korea’s Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), moon jars are rare porcelain vessels crafted from refined white clay. Today, only 30 such artefacts remain intact, making them prized possessions for museums and collectors. While their original purpose is something of a mystery, their elegant, unadorned style reflects the Confucian values of their time. But, as this video from the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco demonstrates, making moon jars was hardly a simple task. To begin with, their creators had to sift the sandy clay and, with their feet, remove any air bubbles, then throw by hand two matching hemispheres on the potter’s wheel, before meticulously connecting them into one spherical whole until the moon jar was was ready for firing, glazing, and firing again. Shot in cinematic black and white, this short film follows the Korean ceramic artist Dong Sik Lee as he recreates the process of building an 18th-century moon jar while offering insights into the object’s distinctive qualities and history. You can learn more about moon jars at the Asian Art Museum’s website.