KHMER (ANGKORIAN) CERAMICS

The Khmer civilization of Angkor reached its zenith from the 9 to 14 century. It covered present Camdodia, eastern Thailand and the Mekong basin in southern Vietnam. Its culture was very Indian influenced as seen in the great monuments of Angkor Wat, Bayon and other Angkor temples. These and their statues were made of sandstone for royalty and powerful and are today perserved as national heritage.

The commoners use clay for their statuettes and daily utensils. They use low-fired clay to turn them into terracotta pieces. However, Chinese commercial influence led to glazed ceramics being sought after, technical skills copied and adapted pottery-making in their own style and incised decorations.  Though not as fine as Chinese ceramics, the most wonderful development of the Khmers was their unique zoomorphic vessels ie animal adornment (bird, elephant, rabbit) on their pots and jars. The glaze are in ash green and the more common brown. Two-glazed ware are rare and prized.

Below are some of them from my collection. Happy viewing.

k04 limepot gobular zoomorphic owl green 11x13cm 11c	k05 limepot globular zoomorphic elephant brown 13x16cm 12c
k03 bottle ovoid bicolor 14x10cm 11c rare	k02 bottle ovoid brown 17x13cm 11-12c
k07 kendi covered brown 23x17cm 12c	k08 large pot globular bicolor 19x21cm 11c rare
k01 box covered cylindrical green 11c	k09 honeypot lenticular brown 9x15cm 12c
k11 bowl lotuspod c disc stand brown 8x16 12-13c rare	k12 bowl conical green 9.2x17.5cm 10-11c rare
k06 kendi zoomorphic lenticular brown c bird handle 14x20cm 12c	jar baluster brown 35x22cm 12c k12
k13 Vishnu standing terracotta 25x8cm preAngkor bf 9th c	k14 Diety standing female terracotta 25.5x7.7cm preAngkor
k15 shiva standing terracotta 20.5x6cm preangkor	k16 apsara standing terracotta 18.5x10cm preangkor
k17 shiva sitting terracotta 17.5x9.7cm preAngkor	k18 buddha standing terracotta 37x11 preAngkor
k20 head of diety sandstone	k23 jar large angkorian brown 12c
Large Angkorean Jar12-13c	Rare Angkorian Jar w ringhandles n incised decorations
Large Jar with ringhandles prob Thai 15c found in Cambodia.	Large Angkorean Jar12-13c