Monday, December 21, 2009

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.

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k04 limepot gobular zoomorphic owl green 11x13cm 11c

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k05 limepot globular zoomorphic
elephant brown 13x16cm 12c
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k03 bottle ovoid bicolor 14x10cm 11c rare
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k02 bottle ovoid brown 17x13cm 11-12c
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k07 kendi covered
brown 23x17cm 12c
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k08 large pot globular bicolor 19x21cm 11c rare
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k01 box covered cylindrical green 11c
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k09 honeypot lenticular brown 9x15cm 12c
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k11 bowl lotuspod c disc
stand brown 8x16 12-13c rare
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA         k12 bowl conical green 9.2x17.5cm 10-11c rare

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA         k06 kendi zoomorphic lenticular brown c bird handle 14x20cm 12c

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jar baluster brown
35x22cm 12c k12
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k13 Vishnu standing
terracotta 25x8cm
preAngkor bf 9th c
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k14 Diety standing
female terracotta 25.5x7.7cm preAngkor
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k15 shiva standing
terracotta 20.5x6cm
preangkor
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k16 apsara standing
terracotta 18.5x10cm
preangkor
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k17 shiva sitting terracotta 17.5x9.7cm preAngkor
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k18 buddha standing
terracotta 37x11 preAngkor
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k20 head of diety sandstone
k23 jar large angkorian brown 12c
k23 jar large angkorian
brown 12c
3Ankorean Jar 10A
Large Angkorean Jar12-13c
P6240601
Rare Angkorian Jar
w ringhandles n incised decorations
P6250604
Large Jar with ringhandles
prob Thai 15c found in Cambodia.
P6240603
Large Angkorean Jar12-13c

3 comments:

  1. what a beautiful show,a varied collection,a timless effort of art and creation !
    Roberto

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  2. Thanks Robert for being the first and for the gracious comments. Am still trying to improve my blogging skills. You are most welcome to drop by and view my collection. Next posting will be on gemstones.

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  3. Oh my goodness, a truly spectacular collection! A remarkable achievement to aquire such beautiful & unique treasures in a lifetime. Thank you for sharing them.

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