kärl, skål, dish, vessel, ritual dish

This flat dish is raised on a conical, hollow pedestal. The dish has a wide, everted rim with an incised line along the inner edge. Forming a step, the body of the dish angles down to the base which connects to the pedestal. The dish is covered with a thick glaze of a light bluish tone. Round marks, probably from the potter’s fingers, can be seen in the glaze on the outer surface. The surface has an overall grey tone and many bubble bursts, especially on the exterior of the body and on the interior of the foot. The footrim is covered with the remains of coarse kiln grit. During ancestral ceremonies, offerings of traditional foodstuffs such as rice cake would have been neatly stacked onto the dish.
The origin of ancestral rituals in Korea that are still performed in the same manner today can be traced back to the Joseon Dynasty when the society and its culture were structured according to Neo-Confucian ideology. The foremost concept of Neo-Confucian is that a successful governance of a nation is based on good governance of a family in which ‘filial piety (Korean: hyo)' is considered to be the principal virtue. People expressed their respect for the living older generation of one’s family but also for their ancestors, especially by means of offering regular rituals. The Joseon Dynasty published Gukjooryeui, Book on Five Major State Rites (1474), and set the standards for holding ancestral rituals mainly for the four previous generations on the anniversary of the death at one’s shrine as well as in March, October at the ancestors’ graves, the first day of the year, the 105th day after the winter solstice, the fifth day of the fifth month of the year and 15th of August according to the Korean lunar calendar. Descendants who attend a ritual prepare themselves by purifying themselves physically and mentally the day before and arrange food and rice wine after midnight. Different types of foods are positioned in a specific way: Fishes, pickled (wet) fish, jujubes, red fruits, raw vegetables, rice cake, and soup on the east side and meats, dried meat, chestnut, white fruits, cooked vegetables, noodle and rice on the west side, especially heads of fishes on the east and tales on the west side. Attendees receive the ancestors’ spirits by burning incense and by pouring rice wine into a bowl containing sand and then offer the wine for the spirits three times with a prayer. After everyone leaves the room for a moment for the spirits to enjoy the offerings the attendees would finish the rite by burning the prayer paper and by sharing the offerings together.