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A stoneware bottle and zoomorphic A stoneware lime pot in the form of a Three stoneware bird-shaped lime pots
water dropper caparisoned elephant Khmer, 11th-13th centuries
Northeast Thailand, Khmer, 11th-13th Khmer, 11th/12th century With an unglazed tooled foot, globular body,
century and North Thailand, Si Satchanalai, The bulbous body raised on stump feet and tiered lid; the left with an upturned beak
14th-16th century respectively complete with modeled elephant head, trunk, and vertical bands on the body; the right with
The bottle decorated with incised bands of tail, multifaceted caparison and mahoot. downturned beak and wings; the center with a
web and arrowhead design on the collar and 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm) diameter separately molded attached head.
shoulder; the water dropper in the shape of a $2,000 - 3,000 6 1/8 in. (15 cm) high
bird with an upturned spout and tail, incised $1,000 - 1,500
with linear feather patterns. Elephants were revered as symbols of regal
Bottle: 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm) diameter; power and as carriers of the universe within Practical and amusing, zoomorphic vessels are a
Dropper: 3 1/2 in. (88 cm) Hindu and Buddhist iconography. Lime pots hallmark of Khmer ceramics. Such bird-shaped
$1,000 - 1,500 were often used within a religious context in pots represent the ak: a symbol of fidelity in
conjunction with betel-chewing which was popular lore as upon the death of its mate, the
As discussed by Rooney, the flattened globular an important component of widely practiced ak kills itself by careering into a rock or tree.
pot is a unique Khmer form produced in great animistic worship in the region. For further Closely related ak pots are held in Honda, et
quantity at kilns in Northeast Thailand (Honda, discussion and similar examples, see Honda, et al., The Beauty of Fired Clay, Oxford, 1997,
et al., The Beauty of Fired Clay, Oxford, 1997, al., The Beauty of Fired Clay, Oxford, 1997, p. nos. 50-2, p. 82 and Richards, South-East Asian
p. 16). Examples with similar shape and design 17 & nos. 42-3, pp. 78-9. Also see Richards, Ceramics, Kuala Lumpur, 1995, fig. 134 p. 172).
are held in the Honda collection (ibid., no. 41) South-East Asian Ceramics, Kuala Lumpur,
and published in Richards, South-East Asian 1995, fig. 137, p. 174. Provenance:
Ceramics, Kuala Lumpur, 1995, fig. 146, p. 181. The Collection of Dr Philip Gould
Provenance: Acquired in Thailand, 1960-76
The accompanying water dropper embodies The Collection of Dr Philip Gould
the continuity of shapes and glazes in ceramic Acquired in Thailand, 1960-76
production in Northern Thailand following the
transferal of regional power from the Khmers to
the newly established Sukhothai empire.
Provenance:
The Collection of Dr Philip Gould
Acquired in Thailand, 1960-76
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