BASIC INFORMATION

  • Object Name: Underglaze Iron-Painted Floral Charger Central Base Fragment
  • Country of Origin: Thailand (Ancient Kingdom of Sukhothai)
  • Production Center: Sukhothai Kilns (Mueang Sukhothai center, Sukhothai Province)
  • Historical Period: Ayutthaya / Sukhothai Period
  • Date: 15th Century CE, provisionally circa 1400–1470

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

  • Form: A massive, highly pedagogical central base and lower-wall sherd from a large, open-form export display plate or charger vessel.
  • Clay Body: Hard-fired, coarse light-grey regional stoneware. The fabric presents a uniform grey core packed with abundant angular quartz-like mineral inclusions and signature irregular voids characteristic of the main Sukhothai town kiln deposits.
  • Decoration: The interior well is covered with a thick cream clay slip and freely painted in dark iron pigment. It captures a stylized floral spray or multi-petaled, chrysanthemum-like bouquet medallion, framed with elegant, expressive scrolling foliage linework.
  • Glaze & Firing Attributes: Coated completely in a creamy transparent-to-milky glaze showing a fine network of stable ancient crackle lines. The reverse center preserves direct technical evidence of a broken central tubular kiln support collar, which was intentionally fashioned from a distinct, darker structural clay body. A visible historic stress fracture lines across the massive base, which probably developed during the initial ancient drying or firing stage.

DIMENSIONS

  • Base Scale: Substantial, thick-walled export specimen.
  • Broad Wheel-Formed Foot Diameter: Approximately 100 mm
  • Wall Thickness at the Break: Approximately 12 mm thick

CONDITION REPORT

  • Overall Condition: Stabilized / Excavated Archaeological Study State
  • Structural Details: A clean, un-restored diagnostic fragment. The outer body walls were historically lost when the charger shattered, leaving an incredibly clear visual profile of the interior painting layers, the dense inclusion-heavy body cross-section, and the critical structural kiln seat underneath.
  • Wear & Kiln Features: The underglaze iron linework and milky cream glaze are excellently preserved. The ancient base crack and the residual dark clay from the broken tubular pontil support stand fully un-restored and stable, serving as an exceptional primary record of medieval manufacturing stresses.

PROVENANCE & CONTEXT

  • Historical Context: While fish designs dominated Sukhothai export pottery, stylized floral sprays and chrysanthemum rosettes represent the rarer, highly artistic decorative lineage of the Mueang Sukhothai kilns. To prevent these massive, heavy-walled chargers from collapsing or warping under intense heat, potters rested the bases on stout, hollow tubular clay supports rather than standard small spur discs. This specimen provides an outstanding, textbook illustration of medieval engineering, showcasing the structural scar of a dark-clay support cylinder and a firing crack that captures the exact physical challenges of 15th-century Thai stoneware production. It stands as a premium, highly academic acquisition for advanced ceramic scholars and institutional collectors.