Thailand: Very Rare And Large Ban Chiang Jar (300 To 100 Bc)

Ban Chiang, Thailand
Extremely rare and today unobtainable.
Large terracotta jar with a flared neck and a particularly rich red plant decoration.
Uneven base with numerous visible gaps.
From -300 to -100 BC H 34 cm.
'Collected by a French cooperant stationed in Laos in the early 1970s'

This site of approximately 3 km2 was densely occupied from 3600 to 250 BCE. The excavations yielded numerous objects made of iron and bronze (an alloy of copper and tin), in particular bronze bracelets and iron tools. Bronze metallurgy would have begun between 2500 and 2000 BCE, a late appearance compared to the Middle East but contemporary with the discovery of copper in China. Copper and iron also provided pigments for the cave paintings which abound in the surrounding area. The inhabitants of Ban Chiang, rice farmers and breeders, were above all skilled potters: black pottery from 3600 to 1000 BCE, patterned pottery between 1000 and 500 BCE and the very famous pottery painted in red on a pink-orange background between 500 and 250 BCE1. The site is famous for its red-painted pottery. The archaeological site of Ban Chiang has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992.