이화여자대학교박물관

In Asia, various stationery items, such as brushes, ink sticks, ink stones, and water droppers, have long been used in painting and writing. These tools are not only daily necessities but also excellent works of art, reflecting an artistic and noble temperament. The Ewha Womans University Museum has collected various types of stationary from the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C.-668) to the Joseon dynasty (1392~1910). The ceramic stationary items produced at the Bunwon-ri kiln are particularly highly acclaimed at home and abroad. The theme of this first special exhibition dedicated to stationery was "the ink stone and the water dropper."

The ink stone is an essential tool on which ink sticks or pigment is ground for painting or writing. Earthenware ink "stones" from the Three Kingdoms period and Unified Silla (668 A.D.-935), ink stones proper from Goryeo (918~1392), and ceramic ink "stones" from Joseon (1392~1910) were put on display.

The water dropper is used to place a measured amount of water onto the ink stone prior to grinding the ink stick. It has two holes--one out of which the water flows, and another into which air flows--to adjust the amount of water flow. Most of the water droppers on display were ceramic water droppers from the Joseon dynasty, and they took on various forms. Example include geometrical shapes, such as circles, squares, hexagons, heptagons, and octagons, animal shapes, such as birds, ducks, the mythical animal haetae, turtles, and butterflies, and also shapes from everyday life, such as houses, mountains, peaches, reeds, and knees. Water droppers are made of white porcelain, black-brown glaze, and onggi (stoneware). The white porcelain water droppers include not only plain white porcelain but also water droppers with landscapes, plants, animals, and geometrical designs painted with pigment such as underglaze copper and underglaze iron. Water droppers may be seen as the essence of stationery, and, depending on the ways in which their shapes, designs, and materials blend together, water droppers may appear noble, innocent, or even humorous.