Antique Sawankhalok Stoneware Lidded Bowl, Thailand (3169BLE) $325

$325.00

H: 4.75”  Dia: 5.25” | FREE SHIPPING

This 14/15th century round lidded Sawankhalok stoneware bowl rests on a brown glazed foot and is intricately decorated with green and beige glazes. A brown lotus bud handle tops the lid surrounded  by hand-painted decorative circles of alternating narrow and wide brown lines. It is elegantly decorated with underglaze black vines and vegetal scrolls on the lid and body atop circular bands on which small amounts of grey-green glaze have dripped.

 

Description

Sawankhalok in north-central Thailand is an area with ceramic kiln production during the Sukhothai Kingdom (1238-1583). When Ming emperors forbade export of Chinese ceramics during 1368-1487, a period known as the Ming Gap, Thailand became a major ceramics producer and exporter to Southeast Asia, Japan, and the Middle East. During the 14th and 15th centuries, Sawankhalok kilns produced a large range of shapes and glazes in their own unique creations. Stoneware lidded boxes were functional and signs of wealth for Thais and overseas owners and used to store spices, cosmetics, betel nut  paraphernalia, medicine, and more, and they are sometimes ancestral items found buried with the deceased for use in the afterlife . Round shapes, lotus bud handles and floral design motifs were adopted from Hindu and Buddhist reliquaries and architectural elements. The most famous and prized Thai ceramics of this period including stoneware with a glaze and celadons recognized for their high quality and beauty. Its condition is very good with expected firing imperfections, minor scratches and inside rim chips and there is a single long scrape on one side.

Sources:

Roxanna Maude Brown, The Ming Gap and Shipwreck Ceramics in Southeast Asia: Towards a Chronology of Thai Trade Ware, Bangkok, Siam Society, 2009.

Louise Allison Cort with George Ashley Williams IV and David P. Rehfuss, “Ceramics in Mainland and Southeast Asia, National Museum of Asian Art,” Collections in the Freer Gallery of Art,

Tom Harrison, “Ming Gap and Kota Batu, Brunei,” The Sarawak Museum Journal, New Series 8(11)/Old Series (26), pp. 273-77, 1958.

University of Michigan Museum of Art, “Sawankhalok Ware Covered Box with a conch handle, a band of stars, and vegetal school design.

Yew Seng Tai, “Ming Gap and the Revival of Commercial Production of Blue and White Porcelain in China,” Beijing, School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University, Vol. 31, 2011.

Additional information

Weight 4 lbs
Dimensions 12 × 9 × 6 in
Period

Antique, Sukhothai Kingdom

Date

14-15th Century

Materials and Technique

Stoneware

Dimensions (inches)

Ht. 4.75” Dia 5.25"

Dimensions (metric)

Ht: 12.06cm Dia: 13.33cm

Weight

1 lb 2oz

Condition

Very good, see description

Reference Number

3169BLE

Shipping Box Size

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