A term describing ceramics using a glaze containing iron oxide and ranging in color from olive green to jade green to gray-green. Celadon ware was perfected in China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). It was valued by the Chinese because of its resemblance to polished jade. Production later spread to other parts of Asia, including Korea and Japan.

Melon-shaped ewer with bamboo decoration and celadon glaze. Korea. First half of the 12th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.