Bencharong ware
(Thailand)
- Title
- Jar 'toh prik'
- Other titles:
- Octagonal toh prik jar decorated with vertical panels of gilt and red foilage designs
- Place of origin
-
China
Thailand
- Period
- Rama II Period 1809 - 1824 → Thailand
- Year
- early 19th century
- Media category
- Ceramic
- Materials used
- porcelain with enamel decoration and gold finial
- Dimensions
-
6.0 x 5.5cm
- Signature & date
- Not signed. not dated.
- Credit
- Gift of Mr F. Storch 1984
- Accession number
- 68.1984.a-b
- Location
- Upper Asian gallery
- Further information
'Lai Nam Thong' or 'Bencharong ware'
Bencharong wares in particular reflect Thai taste. "Bencharong" is a form of five-coloured overglaze enamel ware, the name being derived from the Sanskrit 'panch' meaning "five" and 'rang', meaning "colour". Such wares reflect the Indianizing influences in Thai art: the decoration has its origins in the densely applied motifs of Indian art in which surfaces are completely covered with pattern in a regular and repetitive style.
Wares such as this piece were made for everyday use, initially only by the court but later more widely. The small 'toh prik' jar would have been used for medicine or cosmetics. The gilt stupa finial is a less common feature that probably reflects Cambodian influence.
Asian Art Dept., AGNSW, March 1984.
- Bibliography (2)
-
'Export Ceramics', The Asian Collections Art Gallery of New South Wales 2003, 2003, 143 (colour illus.).
'The Nanhai Trade' by Jackie Menzies, pg. 4-7., TAASA Review Mar 2004, Mar 2004, 4-5, 6 (colour illus.), 7.
