Celadon Double-Walled Openwork Vase: Peony Motif

“Where craftsmanship meets the unseen, and beauty resides in quiet intricacy.”

This celadon vase, created by master artisan Young-soo Kim, is a meditation on precision and poetic stillness. Formed through the demanding double-wall openwork technique, it reveals a layered world—an interplay of surface and depth, of concealment and revelation.

At first glance, the vase appears like a gentle bloom held in stillness. Its spherical form, nearly perfect in its symmetry, is gently pierced with undulating patterns of foliage. Carved leaf by leaf into the outer shell, the structure evokes the sensation of a garden suspended in time. Through each opening, the inner wall shimmers softly—an invisible world glimpsed only through absence.

Adorning this garden are delicately raised peonies, rendered in white slip against the celadon’s soft jade hue. The peony, a symbol of dignity and grace, seems to float among the lattice of leaves. Their subtle relief brings a quiet dimensionality, as if they are caught in a moment just before bloom. The natural craquelure of the celadon glaze deepens the texture, drawing the eye into its tranquil complexity.

This is more than a vessel—it is a contemplation. The interplay between inner and outer layers invites reflection on what lies beneath surface beauty. The viewer is led not only to admire the visible, but to imagine what remains hidden: a metaphor for the roots and origins beneath all flourishing.

A work of rare technical challenge and poetic restraint, this vase speaks softly—yet with profound resonance. It is an object not only to be displayed, but slowly understood.

Dimensions

• Height- 25 cm (9.84 inch)
• Diameter- 24 cm (9.45 inch)