Korean Hoeryung Glazed Tea Caddy
This Hoeryung Glazed Tea Caddy by Hunseong Jang pairs the fluid, unpredictable character of Hoeryung glaze with a tall, sculptural form and a silver-coated lid.
The body rises in gently irregular planes, giving the caddy a subtly faceted, almost architectural silhouette. Across its surface, Jang’s Hoeryung glaze moves freely in vertical streams, shifting between creamy ivory, smoky gray, muted blue-green, and warm amber-brown. The pale glaze gathers and breaks over a deep iron-black ground, forming elongated drips, speckled passages, and areas of pooling that emphasize the downward movement of the glaze during firing. Near the base, the darker ground remains exposed between the flowing glaze, creating a striking contrast and giving the vessel a sense of visual weight.
A fitted silver-coated ceramic lid completes the piece. Its warm, softly oxidized metallic surface and small hand-formed knob introduce a quiet point of contrast against the richly varied glaze of the body. Rather than appearing polished or ornamental, the silver retains an aged, tactile quality that complements the irregularity and material depth of the vessel.
Rooted in the ceramic tradition of Hoeryung in present-day North Korea, Hoeryung glaze is known for the unpredictable variations that emerge through the interaction of glaze, clay, atmosphere, gravity, and heat. Jang creates his Hoeryung glaze using rice-straw ash combined with other materials, producing a warm, milky glaze that becomes notably fluid during firing.
Rather than attempting to completely control this movement, Jang allows the glaze to run and interact with the darker surfaces beneath it. The resulting passages of creamy white, blue-gray, brown, and black can recall weathered stone, flowing water, or distant landscapes. Each firing produces its own arrangement of drips, pools, and tonal variations, ensuring that no two pieces are precisely alike.
Designed for storing tea leaves, the caddy brings together function and sculptural presence. Its contained, upright form provides a quiet counterpoint to the spontaneous movement of the glaze, while the silver-coated lid adds another material that will naturally develop character with time and handling.
Dimensions: W 2“ × L 2.25 “ × H 4.25“
Glazed ceramic with silver-coated ceramic lid. Food-safe.
Handcrafted in Korea.
About Hunseong Jang: Hunseong Jang (장훈성) is a Korean ceramic artist based in Icheon, South Korea, whose work explores traditional Korean ceramics through an expressive and contemporary approach. After graduating from Yeoju University’s Department of Ceramics in 2000, Jang continued his ceramic training in Korea and later in Japan before establishing his own studio in 2006.
Working primarily with Buncheong and Hoeryung glaze, Jang creates functional vessels and tea wares that emphasize the natural qualities of clay, glaze, and fire. His interest in Hoeryung glaze developed while studying ceramics in Japan, where encountering the rice-straw-ash glazed work of Japanese Living National Treasure Miwa Jusetsu inspired him to research the material further.
Across both his Buncheong and Hoeryung works, Jang preserves the irregularities of the hand and the unpredictability of firing. Rather than treating these qualities as imperfections, he allows material, gesture, gravity, and fire to become visible parts of the finished work.
