burnished reddish-brown surface; wide, flat foot with flaring body with pointed shoulder; narrow neck with very wide trumpet mouth

Funerary Offering Jar, 1000-500 BCE

Unknown artist, expand_more

In the late 1960s, a hoard of pots was unearthed at the village of Ban Chiang, on the Khorat Plateau in northeast Thailand. It yielded a complex, innovative ceramic tradition that transformed scholars’ understanding of early Southeast Asian history. Although much remains unknown about the Ban Chiang culture (c. 3000 BCE–400 CE), archaeology has revealed that it cultivated advanced traditions of metallurgy, agriculture, burial practices, and art.

An excavation at Ban Lum Khao in 1995–96 uncovered over 100 burial tombs, where trumpet-rimmed vessels, fashioned from black clay and finished with a red slip (a mixture of clay and water, used to protect and decorate the ceramic), were found placed near the head and feet of the deceased. These elegant vessels likely held grave offerings to ensure the ancestor a rich afterlife.

Details
Title
Funerary Offering Jar
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2000.82.2
Curator Approved

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burnished reddish-brown surface; wide, flat foot with flaring body with pointed shoulder; narrow neck with very wide trumpet mouth