We recently acquired some wonderful Asian antiques now listed in the gallery including Buddha statues, lacquerware, bronze bells, ceramics and textiles, mostly from Burma. Sometimes it’s difficult to fully appreciate pieces offered in the gallery without the opportunity of seeing them in a home setting so we are displaying them here to provide a sense of context.
Asian Home Decor with Antique Buddha Statue, Monk & Lacquerware
Displayed here are an antique wood carving statue of the Buddha and a monk as well as an antique lacquerware vessel know in Burma as kun-it. Burmese artisans are well known for their expertise in wood carving. The tradition of lacquerware is centuries old in Burma and a great variety of vessels exist. They can be made from bamboo, rattan, or jackfruit wood which are then applied with several layers of natural and pigmented lacquer which is then decorated with an iron stylus using various motifs.
Asian Home Decor: Buddha Statue, Bronze Bell, Lacquerware Box
This entry incorporates both European and Asian influences without a conflict in aesthetics. With a little experimentation, Asian and European decor can complement and contrast one another beautifully.
Asian Decor: Dining Room Decorated with Burmese & Thai Antiques
This exotic dining room incorporates a cane dining setting decorated with a silk runner and 15thC Swanakhalok shipwreck jar. In the background are a decorated Burmese lacquered panel and sideboard upon which sits an antique bronze elephant bell, antique Burmese ox cart ornament and antique monk wood carving. And most precious of all, Lilly getting her beauty sleep.
Buddhist Art from Burma
Mirrors bring light and depth into rooms, reflecting colour and art work , and creating shifting visual effects. Featured in this photo is a rare Shan Buddha statue carved from wood, lacquered and then gilded. Beside the Buddha are a monk and lacquer-ware box. On the wall hangs a painting by a Laotian artist and reflected in the mirror is an antique Lisu hill tribe silver necklace.
This photo shows a wider view of the dining room with the addition of a pink orchid. Orchids are surely one of the most exquisite members of the botanical world and lend themselves to creating a relaxing Eastern ambiance.
This living room features a collection of Burmese antiques and an etching by Thai artist, Vorakorn Metmanorom. The timber, furnishings and lighting used help create a warm atmosphere.
Asian Interiors
Another shot of the dining room with the concertina doors opened. Decorative pieces include a Burmese Chin runner, Burmese lacquer-ware, Buddha statue with attendant monks and Chinese overhanging gilded frame.
The decor items featured in these photos are available at the time of posting and represent just a small selection of the Asian antiques, art, silk and tribal textiles, as well as collectibles available in the gallery.
The high-fired glazed stoneware ceramics that were produced at the kilns in the Kingdom of Sukhothai from the 13th – 16th century are the pride of Thailand and much coveted by curators of museums and private collectors around the world. Although beautiful red earthenware unglazed urns and other artifacts dating back to 3600BC have been excavated at Ban Chiang, the zenith of ceramic production in Siam (Thailand) is frequently cited as Sawakhalok jars, plates, bowls, and vases in celadon (light green) and dark brown glaze from the 15th century.
Confusion sometimes arises over the nomenclature of antique Thai ceramics from this period. The term Sawankhalok is generally used interchangeably with ceramics from the city of Si Satchanalai in the Kingdom of Sukhothai, although it is also used to refer to a much wider area covering many hundreds of kilns in central Thailand. Ceramics produced in Sukhothai city are distinct from Si Satchanalai / Sawankhalok wares and comparisons of clay are made; Sukhothai is known for its courser clay with a high iron content, resulting in black specks. Studies of excavations sites at Ban Noi indicate that the production of glazed ceramics began in Si Satchanalai earlier than in Sukhothai. Another term encountered in the study of ceramics from this period is Sangkalok, a Thai term for ceramics made in both Si Satchanalai and Sukhothai during the Sukhothai period. As a side note, although the Lanna Kingdom in the north of Thailand produced beautiful glazed stoneware during the same period, it was not known to be exported.
Sawankhalok Ceramics: Antique Celadon Plates 16th Century
Sawankhalok / Si Satchanalai & Sukhothai Ceramics (13th -16thC)
Ceramic wares from the hundreds of kilns located along the Yom River in Si Satchanalai as well as from Sukhothai city were exported in vast quantities to Indonesia and the Philippines where demand was great. Sawankhalok ware was also exported to Japan and the Middle-East. The export of both Thai and Vietnamese ceramics experienced a surge when the Chinese imperial court placed a ban on foreign export during the Ming period, leaving a gap to be filled. For the duration of the 15th century, Thailand and Vietnam became the most important suppliers of ceramics to the SE Asian market. During the first half of the 15thC Vietnamese and Thai iron-painted ware were popular but by the latter part of the 15th century it was Thai celadon and Vietnamese blue and white wares that were in demand.
A deeper understanding of Thai trade ceramics during this period has been made possible largely by studies of the maritime trade in Southeast Asia, in particular shipwrecked junks carrying ceramics to Indonesia and the Philippines. Over the past 22 years some 10 shipwrecks have been discovered in the gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea. Often amongst the cargo were Chinese ceramics for which stronger dating was possible thanks to detailed records, allowing the basis of a chronology of Thai ceramics to be formed. The foremost expert in the field was the late Dr Brown whose book, “The Ming Gap and Shipwreck Ceramics in Southeast Asia- Towards a Chronology of Thai Trade Ware” was published in 2009.
Excavations in Indonesia and the Philippines and recoveries from shipwrecks indicate that the iron-painted black fish and floral motif plates constituted the first wave of popular Thai ceramics in SE Asia, probably originating from the kilns of Sukhothai. The earliest Sukhothai iron-painted wares were discovered at the Turiang shipwreck dated around the late 14th century. Thai wares made up around 35% of the cargo and included some Sawankhalok celadon jars and vases. Early Sukhothai wares were sparsely decorated with fish or floral motifs. More elaborate decoration was present on pieces from the Nanyang wreck dated to the 1420-30s.
By this time large celadon plates (also termed shallow bowls) from the Sawankhalok kilns were in production. In the 1450-60’s iron-painted wares lost popularity to Thai Celadon and Vietnamese blue and white wares though production of iron-painted ware continued in a reduced capacity and consisted of mainly jars, plates and bowls. Usually a circular scar of the support disc could be seen on the base.
16thC Sawankhalok Ceramics: showing circular scar from support disc
The Royal Nanhai Shipwreck
Another wreck that has provided important information on the chronology of Thai trade ceramics is known as the Royal Nanhai Wreck, a Siamese junk that is thought to have sunk off the coast of Malaysia in the South China Sea around mid 15th century, supported by carbon 14 dating corresponding to 1400 A.D +/- 70 years. The junk was transporting over 20,000 pieces of green and brown glazed celadon ceramics to Eastern Java. The wreck was discovered in 1992. Most of the Thai cargo consisted of celadon ware from the famous Si Satchanalai kilns as well as black glazed stoneware jars with lids. The presence of blue and white Chinese porcelain confirmed a dating of the cargo to the mid-late 1400s. Of the some 20,000 pieces on board, only 20% were recoverable, with nearly 3,000 pieces going to the National Museum in Kuala Lumpur. A small number of pieces became available for sale, allowing some of the finest 15th century Si Satchanalai ceramics ever seen to be offered to private collectors and museums around the world, including the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Very few pieces remain available for sale today.
Si Satchanalai Jars from Royal Nanhai Shipwreck Circa 1460
Marine Growth on Jars Recovered from the 15th Century Royal Nanhai Shipwreck
By 1500, during the Ming Hongzhi period in China, blue and white wares emerged as the most highly demanded ceramics in Southeast Asia. Thai celadon and brown wares lost favor and as demand fell so did the quality- dramatically. In an effort to revive Thai ceramics exports in the 16th century, Thai potters introduced decorations in underglaze iron-painted black and created a niche in cover boxes, kendi and bowls. It was also during the 16th century that opaque white glaze wares were introduced. By the middle of the 16th century the Burmese invaded Siam in the first of the Burmese-Siamese wars, effectively ending production at the Sawankhalok and Sukhothai kilns. In the centuries that followed, unglazed stoneware was produced at Singburi and near Ayutthaya and Chinese and Japanese blue and white wares were imported for everyday use. In the early 20th century the production of ceramics began to thrive in Chiang Mai and Lampang, both in celadon and blue and white ware, some of which was influenced by Chinese designs. The ceramics featured in this article are currently available – just click on the photos for more details.
Antique Burmese lacquer containers, opium weights dating from as early as the 15th century, celadon ceramics from 15-16th Sukhothai and antique bronze bells are among the items that we recently returned with from an overland trip to Sukhothai and Burma. Below are a few photos from the trip and of some of items that we recently listed in the gallery. Very soon we will be listing more antique bronze bells from Burma. If there are particular items from this region that visitors to the gallery are interested in that are not currently featured, please let us know and we will endeavor to find them.