This thesis aims to examine the origin of the side-handled porcelain teapot of the Joseon Dynasty in the collection of the National Museum of Korea. Through the analysis of Joseon Dynasty's tea culture, literature sources, and tea wares, I have investigated that the production of the 19th century Joseon porcelain teapot has been inspired by Chinese tea culture as well as Japanese tea ware.
The teapot in the collection of the National Museum of Korea well demonstrates the new style of side-handled type. In general, the Joseon porcelain teapots produced in the 19th century could be classified into the three types depending on the location of the handles: the over round handled type, the rear handled type, and the side handled type. There are several examples of the over and the rear handled teapots from this period. The particular style was influenced by both the traditional Joseon and the Chinese style. However, the side-handled type such as the one in the National Museum of Korea first appeared in the 19th century.
I investigated that the teapot of Changsha kiln of China in the Tang Dynasty would be the first example of the side-handled type. In China, side-handled teapot was produced in the Yue kiln and Fuzien kiln during the Song Dynasty but the style didn't earn much popularity during the Ming and Qing Dynasty. Even so, the Chinese side-handled teapot was imported and welcomed in Japan during the Edo period. In the 18th century, the Japanese tea masters of Kyoto made the side-handled teapot in Japanese taste similar to the Joseon side-handled teapot in the National Museum of Korea. Since then, many potters of the Tokoname and Kyoto area produced side-handled Japanese teapots.
In the 19th century, Chinese tea culture and tea ware were in vogue among Joseon scholars, and the Japanese wares were imported and used in the royal ceremony. The emergence of the new style of the teapot such as this particular piece with the side-handle must have been adorned among the Joseon scholars who fancied exotic foreign goods.
The prototype of the side-handled teapot was inspired by Japanese teapot imported in the 19th century. Nevertheless Joseon potters intermingled the different features of the three cultures of Joseon, China, and Japan and produced the hybrid, which reflects the sophisticated taste of Joseon Dynasty's scholars.