Korean Wood-Fired Baekja Teapot with Bird Motif
A quietly expressive Korean wood-fired baekja teapot by ceramic artist Kimo An of Tousanyo, this intimate piece brings together the restraint of Korean white porcelain and the spontaneous character of the wood-fired kiln.
The teapot has a softly rounded body with an elongated, gently rising handle and a small tapered spout, giving the vessel an appealingly organic silhouette. Its warm ivory-white surface is subtly mottled with cream, pale ochre, and fine firing marks—natural variations that lend depth and individuality to the glaze.
Across the body, freely brushed dark iron-brown birds punctuate the pale surface. Their abbreviated, almost calligraphic forms capture the suggestion of birds in flight with only a few confident gestures. The contrast between these animated marks and the simple baekja form gives the teapot a particularly lyrical quality.
Wood firing introduces further nuances throughout the piece: faint flashes of warmth, scattered speckling, and variations in tone that record the movement of flame and ash through the kiln. Rather than seeking mechanical uniformity, the teapot celebrates the traces of its making and firing.
Finished with a fitted lid and made on an intimate scale, it is both a functional teaware object and a distinctive piece of contemporary Korean ceramics. The combination of understated form, painterly decoration, and fire-altered surface makes each viewing slightly different as the vessel is turned in the hand.
Dimensions: W 6" x L 4.5" x H 2.5"; holds 175cc
Food-safe.
About Kimo An of Tousanyo: Kimo An (안기모) is a Korean ceramic artist and founder of Tousanyo (토산요) in Gimhae, South Korea. His work draws on Korea’s rich ceramic traditions, with a particular focus on functional tea ware and wood firing.
Working with porcelain, buncheong, and natural glazes, An embraces the unpredictable effects of flame and ash. Subtle speckling, tonal shifts, and irregularities give each vessel a distinct character. Birds are a recurring motif, often rendered with a few spontaneous, calligraphic brushstrokes.
Quiet, tactile, and made for everyday use, An’s ceramics balance refinement with the expressive qualities of clay and fire.
