Pot - Ceramic - Sukhothai ceramic 15th c.

Rara covered, footed, zoomorphic box
Thailand, Kingdom of Sukhothai, 14th–15th century
Sawankhalok kilns
Stoneware ceramic
Dimensions: 11 cm (height) x 9 cm (diameter)

The Sawankhalok workshops (Si Satchanalai), established from the 14th to the 16th century at the heart of the Sukhothai kingdom, represented one of the most influential ceramic production centers in Southeast Asia. Fully integrated into the networks of the Silk Road maritime routes, these ceramics were able to fill the commercial gap left by the ban on exporting Chinese porcelain during the so‑called Ming Gap period. From the Indonesian archipelago to the Philippines, via Japan and India, Sawankhalok pieces were massively traded and sought after by regional elites. Beyond their commercial value, they played a major ritual and social role in island communities, serving as prestige objects, dowries, or funerary urns. Finally, by combining local know‑how with Chinese and Vietnamese technical and decorative influences, Sawankhalok tableware stands as a remarkable testament to the economic and cultural dynamism of medieval Southeast Asia.

This footed, lidless cinerary casket in ceramic stoneware from the Si Satchanalai workshops is decorate with a under‑glaze blue‑gray iron motif alternating panels of geometric crosshatching and foliate scrolls. The globular body rests on a flared moulded base covered with a brown glaze (iron‑brown glaze). The slightly domed lid, which repeats the same compartmentalized decorative network, is surmounted by a modelled, round‑bodied finial representing a stylized bird (probably a rooster) laid, with brown incised glaze. The interior and the undersurface of the base reveal characteristic ochre‑red earthenware with firing traces.

While circular covered boxes are common in Sawankhalok export production, the presence of a figurative animal finial (rooster) instead of the traditional lotus or onion knop is particularly rare and sought after. The combination of under‑glaze blue‑gray painting on the light body and the iron brown glaze on the foot and on the anthropomorphic/zoomorphic finial testifies to the high level of mastery of the period’s ceramic artisans in the Sukhothai era.

Condition:
Very good overall state of preservation for an ancient export ceramic. The glaze is well preserved with minor signs of use and small original firing imperfections on the foot and edges. Small chips.

Provenance: Kanaka The Collection, Portugal
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