Celadon Lidded Box (Hap): Lotus Sumaksae Roof-Tile Motif

For those who are drawn to objects that preserve the memory of architecture in a form meant for close, private use.

”It carries the stillness of the eaves into the scale of the palm.“

This work is compelling because it was made not merely to resemble a traditional roof-end tile, but to reinterpret the logic of that form through function, structure, and touch. The Korean sumaksae is normally encountered as part of a larger architectural order, fixed at the edge of a roof and completing the line of a building. Here, that same visual authority is condensed into a covered box. The circular lotus end remains as the frontal image of completion and protection, while the elongated curve of the lid extends backward like a roofline in miniature. In this way, the object preserves the identity of the tile while shifting it from architecture into personal ritual.

That transformation explains the composition. The frontal lotus motif is placed where the eye first settles, because it serves as the symbolic and visual centre of the piece. In Korean architectural ornament, lotus imagery carries associations of clarity, order, and spiritual refinement; here it also stabilises the form, giving the rounded cylinder a formal “face”. By contrast, the upper openwork lattice introduces air and permeability. The lid therefore does not read as a sealed mass, but as something lifted, ventilated, and lightened. This contrast between enclosed body and pierced upper layer is central to the work’s meaning: solidity below, release above.

The choice of a double-structured lid is especially significant. It is not simply a technical flourish. It allows the outer surface to maintain the sculptural presence of a roof element while creating depth between surface and interior. Because the lid is pierced, the structure must be carefully controlled in thickness and drying tension; otherwise warping or collapse would occur. The maker’s remark that failure often happened during drying is important, because it explains why the finished piece feels so resolved. Its calmness is not accidental. It is the visible result of repeated correction, restraint, and judgement.

The small ring handle contributes to this reading. Structurally, it provides a point of opening; visually, it echoes the language of attachment found in traditional crafted objects. It interrupts the lid only slightly, which is why the roof-derived silhouette remains intact. Even in use, the object resists abruptness. One does not open it as one would a simple container. One lifts it from above, almost as though raising a small architectural covering.

The celadon glaze is equally important to how the work is experienced. Its green tone is neither bright nor opaque; instead, it settles into the surface and gathers in the recesses, revealing the lotus carving, the lattice edges, and the slight transitions of the form. This behaviour of glaze is especially suited to a piece that depends on relief, perforation, and contour. The colour does not overwhelm the structure but clarifies it. Because the body beneath shows warmth at the edges and footed base, the object also retains a sense of material honesty beneath its refined surface.

When closed, the work reads almost like a miniature fragment of architecture, self-contained and composed. When opened, however, it becomes more intimate and domestic, shifting from a roof image into a vessel of safekeeping. That change matters. The object moves from symbolic exterior to sheltered interior, from public architectural memory to private possession. This is precisely why the form was worth making in the first place: it allows Korean material tradition to be experienced not only through looking, but through opening, keeping, and returning.

That it was selected as an exhibition work is fitting. The piece carries the concentration one expects of an object made not only to function, but to be examined slowly, from structure to glaze to the subtle intelligence of its transformation.

Dimensions

• Length- 30cm (11.81 inch)
• Depth- 11.5 (4.53 inch)
• Height- 11.5cm (4.53 inch)

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