Buncheong Moon Flask (Fake)

[TKNZ]

Hi all,

Firstly, sorry for not putting the photos directly on here, but it was too hard to compress them to a size that could be posted here without losing too much detail - the photos are here: imgur.com/a/1SMxK9i

I recently bought a flask that seems to be crudely in the style of Buncheong ware from the Joseon Dynasty. I was intrigued as the base looked like it may have had some age, but the overly-dark and even crazing of the glaze, general crudeness of the form and decoration, and the fact the inside seems to have little to no wear in comparison to the outside makes me think it is a modern and deceptive fake.
If anyone here would like to either reinforce my opinion or suggest otherwise, please let me know! I'd hope it might be real, but I am near certain it isn't. Also, out of interest, is the slight incised spiral under the foot common on Korean pieces of that period (1400s-1500s), or is this an element that the fakers (if it is fake) got wrong?

Thanks,
Thomas.

[peterp]

I collect mainly Goryeo pieces, because Joseon and 20th century items are sometimes difficult to differentiate, thus I hesitate to comment on this. However, the pictures of the side and crackles are indeed looking a bit odd compared with the older pieces in known collections. Also, could it be that mouth and bottom are older than the body? Any signs of them being attached later and then being refired?

[TKNZ]

Hi Peter,

That's entirely a possibility, but the carved slip decoration makes it really hard to tell if anything like that has gone on as it covers where the potential joints may be. The glazes on the foot, body, and neck seem to match exactly, so if they had put a new body on they'd have had to have been very clever about it. The colour of the clay of the main body and the foot rim are also an exact match.
Are there any signs you'd recommend looking for to identify a refired piece?

Thanks,
Thomas.

[peterp]

Refiring at a low temperature would be required if an item was stuck together with slip or glaze as "glue". In such a case there is often a seam line visible, but not if it got completely covered. It is just that I noted that the neck has not the same color as the sides and looks older. If crackling was induced artificially, it might have been done so during a later firing, making the crackles cover the whole of it. But this is just a possibility, it doesn't have to be that way.