Celadon Double-Walled Openwork Vase: Grand-Scale Geometric Lattice with Paired Lug Handles

This piece is chosen by those who understand that presence is sometimes created through what the maker dares to remove.

“The clay stands whole, yet its strength is revealed through the spaces cut away.”

Created by Korean ceramicist Park Hee-Seo, this grand-scale celadon vase is a study in structural patience. It is made through the double-walled openwork technique, in which an inner vessel is formed first to provide the hidden architecture of the piece, before an outer wall is added and carefully pierced. This method changes the meaning of the vase. It is no longer only a contained ceramic form, but a layered construction in which surface, void, support, and shadow must work together.

The most immediate feature is the broad band of geometric openwork across the lower body. Interlocking diamonds and small circular openings repeat with disciplined regularity, creating a lattice that appears both decorative and architectural. The pattern has been placed on the rounded body rather than the neck because this is where the vessel has the greatest volume and visual weight. The openwork lightens that fullness, allowing the large form to breathe rather than sit as a closed mass.

This is why the composition feels balanced. The lower section is active, pierced, and rhythmic; the upper section is calmer, smoother, and more vertical. The tall neck rises from the dense openwork body like a moment of stillness after movement. The flared rim then opens the form outward, completing the vase with a gesture that is measured rather than dramatic.

The paired lug handles are essential to this balance. Positioned at the sides of the neck, they interrupt the smooth vertical plane just enough to give the vase a more ceremonial character. Their softly curled forms introduce a bodily presence: the vessel seems to have shoulders, pauses, and points of address. They also mediate between the architectural severity of the lattice and the quiet elegance of the celadon surface.

The geometric pattern was made this way because openwork at this scale must obey both visual and structural logic. Each opening removes clay, and each removal creates risk. The diamonds and circles are not random embellishments; they organise pressure, rhythm, and spacing. They allow the exterior wall to become open while still remaining coherent. In this sense, the pattern is both ornament and engineering.

The celadon glaze gives unity to these contrasting elements. Across the neck and shoulder, it appears smooth and reflective, emphasising the vase’s curved volume. Around the pierced body, it gathers at the edges of the lattice, making the cut forms more legible and giving them a softened depth. Within the openings, shadow darkens the interior wall, so the viewer becomes aware of the hidden structure beneath the visible surface.

This relationship between visible and concealed form is central to the work. The inner vessel is rarely seen directly, yet it governs the entire piece. It allows the outer wall to be opened, pierced, and lightened. The beauty of the vase therefore depends on a paradox: the most important structure is the one that remains largely hidden.

The making process intensifies this reading. A double-walled celadon work requires a refined understanding of clay’s drying rhythm and its behaviour in the kiln. The outer wall, once pierced, becomes vulnerable to collapse, distortion, or cracking. The inner and outer forms must survive as one body, despite their different thicknesses and tensions. Park Hee-Seo’s control is evident in the steadiness of the silhouette and the clarity of the repeated openings.

Viewed from the front, the vase has the quiet force of a formal object. Viewed closer, it becomes a field of small decisions: the spacing of the lattice, the softened edges of the piercings, the depth of the glaze, the shadow behind each opening. Its grandeur does not come from scale alone, but from the patience with which that scale has been disciplined.

This is a work in which Korean celadon is treated not only as colour or surface, but as structure. The vase carries the refinement of celadon, the order of geometric pattern, and the difficulty of openwork into a single, composed presence. It stands with dignity, but it also breathes.

Dimensions

• Diameter- 28cm (11.02 inch)
• Height- 40cm (15.75 inch)

Related Links

• About Celadon

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