Yeon tae Park describes this tea bowl as “분청 귀얄 찻사발” (buncheong gwiyal chatsabal) which translates to buncheong tea bowl with brushed slip. The bowl’s unglazed foot reveals a warm and grainy clay body underneath two slips. First, Park coated the bowl in a warm grey slip rich in iron. Then, with bold distinctive gestures, he brushed a white slip both inside and out, leaving stroke marks that contrast with the grey.

Gwiyal slip decoration is a signature of buncheong ceramics. Featuring dark clay bodies covered in white slip, the earliest buncheong wares are believed by some to have been a substitute for the pure white porcelain clay bodies that had become scarce as the Goryeo dynasty came to an end. But the slip’s application came to be appreciated for its own energy, and brushstrokes themselves arose as a feature worth pursuing.

Buncheong brushed slip decoration was brought to Japan with Korean potters, where it is known as hakeme. Ceramic traditions as different as karatsu and mashiko wares are in many ways Korean aesthetic transplants, and hakeme is featured prominently in both. And styles such as kohiki and shino could not have developed without the adopted gwiyal brushed slip.

Park Yeon tae is considered one of the best potters working in the buncheong tradition today. He is recognized by the Korean Arts Association as Master of Tea Utensils and by the city of Mungyeong as a Master of Ceramics. He has won numerous awards, including the 2025 Award for Excellence at the National Tea Bowl Competition.

New from the artist’s studio. Comes with the signed and stamped wood box, wrapping cloth, and CV.