This celadon maebyeong (prunus) vase with inlaid design was made around the thirteenth century. Maebyeong vases were generally used to contain alcohol, drinks, or other foods and ingredients such as honey or sesame oil. Nowadays, honey and sesame oil are commonly used ingredients in Korea, but 800 years ago only high-ranking officials could afford them.
For its celadon name, the Korean word ‘maebyeong’ originated from the Chinese words 梅 (mae meaning ‘prunus’) and 甁 (byeong meaning ‘vase’ or ‘bottle’) during the Song Dynasty, signifying ‘a bottle with a small mouth containing two to three sprays of plum flowers’, so it is presumed that this celadon maebyeong vase was used to hold flowers.

The vase is inlaid with a beautiful scene of animals and plants, and features various motifs including a water fowl swimming gracefully in water surrounded by plants and willows, another water bird swimming amid reeds, a large hibiscus flower, and a chrysanthemum in full bloom, all of which are set within a ‘water chestnut window.’