Cup with Handle

Korea; Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE–668 CE), Gaya Federation (42–562 CE), Early 6th century
Earthenware with incised and pierced design and ash glaze
H. 3 3/8 x W. 3 3/4 including handle in. (8.6 x 9.5 cm)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Acquisitions Fund, 1989.3

This petite cup consists of a rounded body atop a skirt-like foot and a prominent handle. Its main body is decorated with incised crisscrossing lines, and its foot punctuated by small holes. The foot mimics the shape and pattern of the typical tomb pottery of the Three Kingdoms period: tall pedestals with triangular or rectangular perforations that were often paired with round jars. Pieces similar to this cup have been discovered from earthen mound tombs in Pusan on the southeastern coast of Korea where the Gaya Federation briefly flourished alongside the more powerful three kingdoms of Koguryo, Paekche,and Shilla.