Page 107 - Chinese and Asian Ceramics from an Indonesian Collection

Ceramics from the Musi River

Figure 170. Fine paste kendi decorated with red slip, height
12 cm, Peninsular Thailand, C10–C14, from the
Musi River, Sungai Rebo site. Catalogue K1538.
Some of the earthenware shards at this site were from
the updraft kilns Pa-O kilns, especially those made of
kaolin, white plastic clay, and very fine sand temper. The
largest number of 12th century pottery shards from this
region was from the Pa-O kilns. Common wares included
kendis, flat-bottomed plates, and lids of spouted vessels.
Apart from the white, black and red slip and pale-red
to brownish-red painted decoration designs of linear,
Figure 169. Kendi, pedestal base deeply recessed, spout missing, scrolls, rows of triangular and zigzag patterns were
light fly-ash glaze, height 23.5 cm, South Thailand,
C11–C12, from the Musi River, Batu Ampar site. prominent. These wares were a particularly popular trade
K2668. ware in the Indonesian Archipelago and in Malaysia
(Srisuchat 1991). One particularly well potted small
The Suphanburi kilns at Ban Poon on the Suphanburi jar with impressed seed pods highlighted with reddish
River, west of Ayutthaya, produced unglazed baluster jars brown slip was an example of the quality of fine pottery
with a narrow foot, broad shoulder and flared neck. They from Peninsula Thailand (Figure 166).
are distinguished from those of the more northern kilns
by a variety of stamped designs associated with the earlier The Satingpra pottery Production Site-Complex
Mon tradition and which can be traced to the Dvaravati The ancient port of Satingpra both produced and
period during the 7th to 9th centuries. Attractive designs exported fine paste ware pottery throughout South
include the ‘pho leaf” design and carved horizontal East Asia between the 10th to 12th centuries. The most
parallel lines, elephants, horses, buffalo, deer and hunters popular of these exports were kendis which were made
appear stamped repeats around the shoulder of these from levigated clay with high kaolin content. These are
jars. No Suphanburi (or Lopburi) pottery was identified also known as Ban Kok Moh, or Ban Pah O kendis and
from the Musi. were characterised by their tall thin necks and globular
bodies and neck rims that are remarkably similar. While
Peninsular Thailand pottery their overall size may vary, along with some minor shape
In southern Thailand a large number of earthenware differences, their spouts may differ considerably, and
shards were excavated from Muang Satingpra and Wat include both hand and mould formed types. Most have
Wiang, which according to Srisuchat (2003) represent flat bases with neatly turned foot rings. A minority have
the major fabric types from the Thai Peninsula from a ‘redented’ and elevated foot-rings. They vary in colour
the 1st to 12th century. The highest technological depending on the kiln temperature and range from
shapes were superbly potted using kaolin or white clay yellow, red, white, blue, black in that order of decreasing
as the main fabric component. These included spouted abundance; in one case the grey body had a black slip.
vessels, water vessels plates, bowls, pots, ring-footed They are usually from 22–30 cm tall (Stargardt 1983).
bowls and lids. Surface treatments varied from plain, Stargardt (1983, 2012) reports that Satingpra
slipped, cord-marked, incised, engraved, and stamped kendis from their kiln sites were dated to 11th or 12th
to painted decorations with an orange-red colour. century. But clearly they were produced earlier than

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