Porcelain Jar With Cobalt-Blue Underglaze

Joseon dynasty, 2d half of 18th century
42cm (16.5 in) height
National Museum of Korea, Seoul

The humorous and finely-detailed underpainting shows, on one side, a pair of magpies chattering away at a tiger, a favorite theme in Korean folk art. On the reverse side, another pair of magpies confronts a haetae (Chinese xiezhi), a mythical lion-dog. There is humor in the irreverent attitude that these birds display to their powerful animal cousins.