A monumental hand-sculpted ceramic jar from Dogabi — a South Korean ceramic studio whose entire output is built around a single figure: the dokkaebi, or Korean goblin. In Korean folklore, the dokkaebi is not a villain. It is a guardian — a protector of the home, a bringer of abundance, a creature that lives in the space between the frightening and the familiar.
This piece, No. 35, is named “Han-nuni” (한눈이) — Korean for “the one-eyed one” — and sits at the top of the Dogabi scale, both in size and in intensity. Part of the artist’s Sculptural Jar series, it stands nearly 16 inches tall and weighs over 11 pounds. Wheel-thrown and hand-sculpted from matte black clay, the body carries a single, striking cyclops eye at its center — set with a vivid red stone pupil ringed in 24K liquid gold. Two tall sweeping horns rise from the crown in deep oxblood-black. Carved cloud motifs flow across the forehead and down the cheeks, finished in gold, and a wide-open mouth reveals a full row of sharp 24K gold teeth. On the back and base, the cloud motifs continue, carved into the matte clay surface.
Fired at 2,282°F with oxidation glaze firing, then re-fired at 1,472°F for the gold. One of a kind.
WHY IT’S SPECIAL
- Part of Dogabi’s Sculptural Jar series — the artist’s largest, most ambitious format: a monumental hand-sculpted vessel that reads as serious sculpture rather than functional object.
- Named “Han-nuni” (한눈이), Korean for “the one-eyed one”: a direct reference to the single central eye set with a vivid red stone pupil ringed in gold.
- 24K liquid gold accents: carved cloud motifs across the forehead and cheeks, the central eye setting, and the full row of sharp teeth — the most generous application of gold in the Dogabi collection.
- Matte black clay body: a departure from the glazed white porcelain of most Dogabi pieces, giving this one a quieter, more sculptural quality that lets the gold work speak.
- Two tall sweeping horns: deep oxblood-black, rising from the crown in a dramatic arc.
- Collector-grade: this is a signature piece from one of South Korea’s most singular ceramic practices, and the kind of object that becomes a centerpiece anywhere it lands.
- Dokkaebi mythology: an old Korean word for goblin — traditionally a guardian of the home and a symbol of abundance, not a monster. A protective presence at scale.
DETAILS
- Material: ceramic / black clay
- Size: 280 x 290 x 400 (h) mm / 11" x 11.4" x 15.7" high
- Opening diameter: 40 mm / 1.6"
- Weight: 5,035g / 11.1 lbs
- Method: wheel throwing, hand sculpting
- Kiln: oxidation firing at 2,282°F, glaze; 1,472°F for gold
- 24K liquid gold accents at cloud motifs, central eye setting, and teeth
- One of a kind
- Made in South Korea by THR Ceramic Studio
THE BRAND
Dogabi is the ceramic line of THR Ceramic Studio, founded in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea in 2003 by ceramic artist Hyung Jun Kim. The studio’s work spans functional objects and one-of-a-kind sculpture, but the Dogabi series is its most singular obsession: every piece is a new version of the same figure — the dokkaebi of Korean folklore, reimagined in porcelain and clay each time. The dokkaebi has been part of Korean imagination for centuries, appearing as guardian, trickster, monster, and protector depending on who is telling the story. Kim’s versions are all of these at once. Each is numbered, each is different, and none come back once they’re gone. In October 2025, Takamichi Beauty Room hosted an exhibition with the artist, covered by T Magazine.
