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Covered Jar

15th-16th century

Thailand

Stoneware with incised design under glaze (Si Satchanalai ware)

H. 6 including cover x Diam. 4 1/2 in. (15.2 x 11.4 cm)

Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.93a,b

Provenance

John D. Rockefeller 3rd, New York, NY; acquired from Worthington’s Chinese Porcelain, Vienna, VA, 1969.

The Asia Society, New York, NY, bequest of John D. Rockefeller 3rd, 1979.

Licensing inquiries

After the mid-14th century, there was something of an explosion in the variety of ceramics produced at Sawankhalok. This sudden increase in production probably coincided with a period of intense competition in mainland Southeast Asian ceramic centers for the export market, the result of the Ming-period Chinese ban on exporting Chinese ceramics. This small covered jar is characteristic of the green-glazed wares (celadon) that were produced in northern Thailand, and intended mainly for export to the Philippines and to Indonesia. The jar is covered with an olive-colored glaze and potted using a fairly grainy, dark buff-colored clay that contains traces of red. The incised decorations on the jar are typical of those from Sawankhalok which were rarely naturalistic and, instead, are stylized versions of Chinese designs or are motifs borrowed from other, already-developed local art mediums such as textiles or architecture.