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| Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum | |
|---|---|
| Name | Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum |
| Established | 1979 |
| Location | Bang Saen, Chonburi, Thailand |
| Type | Ceramic museum |
| Collections | Chinese ceramics, Thai ceramics, Vietnamese ceramics, Khmer ceramics, Malay ceramics |
| Director | Dr. Somchai Rattanakosin |
Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum The Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum is a specialist institution dedicated to the history, technology, and art of ceramics produced across Southeast Asia, with comparative collections from China, Japan, Korea, and India. Located in Bang Saen near Chonburi Province, the museum traces maritime exchange routes and artisanal traditions linking ports such as Malacca, Ayutthaya, Melaka Sultanate, and Quanzhou. Its mission combines preservation, scholarship, and public engagement through exhibitions, research, and conservation partnerships with universities and cultural agencies.
Founded in 1979, the museum emerged from a collaboration among the Eastern Seaboard Development Project, the Thai Fine Arts Department, and private collectors associated with the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. Early acquisitions came from excavations at port sites linked to the Srivijaya and Majapahit polities and from private assemblages gathered by expatriate archaeologists working with the French School of the Far East and the British Museum field teams. During the 1980s and 1990s the museum expanded through exchanges with the National Museum, Singapore, the National Museum of Cambodia, and the Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts. Notable curators have included alumni of Chulalongkorn University, Silpakorn University, and the University of Malaya, enabling cross-disciplinary projects with institutions such as the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property.
The permanent holdings encompass over 15,000 objects spanning Neolithic to colonial periods. Major categories include celadon wares associated with Longquan, blue-and-white porcelain reflecting kiln centers like Jingdezhen, and local earthenwares from archaeological sites including Ban Chiang, Oc Eo, and Angkor Thom. The collection also features trade amphorae linked to Persian and Arab merchants, kiln furniture and wasters from Yue production sites, and ritual ceramics used in Buddhist and Hindu contexts. Highlights include rare Song dynasty bowls associated with Kaifeng, Yuan dynasty sancai fragments, Ming dynasty armorial ware displaying European heraldry tied to Portuguese Empire trade, and 19th-century export porcelains destined for Dutch East Indies and British India markets.
The museum organizes holdings by typology and provenance, with shelves displaying kiln technologies from Southeast China alongside comparative pieces from Korea's Goryeo and Joseon periods and Japan's Edo period ceramics. Ethnographic ceramics include Muang Lao ritual vessels, Cham pottery with characteristic stamped decoration, and Malay glazed earthenwares from Terengganu.
Rotating thematic exhibitions examine topics such as maritime archaeology, kiln archaeology, iconography, and cross-cultural exchange. Past shows have focused on the maritime networks connecting Srivijaya and Majapahit, the influence of Islamic lapidary motifs on Southeast Asian ceramics, and the role of ceramics in royal courts such as Ayutthaya Kingdom and Rattanakosin Kingdom. Traveling loans have been organized with the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Musée Guimet, and the National Palace Museum in Taipei. The museum hosts annual symposiums co-hosted with SOAS, University of London, Harvard University, and École française d'Extrême-Orient researchers, and organizes fieldwork seasons in partnership with the Department of Archaeology, Thailand.
The museum operates a laboratory equipped for ceramic stabilization, glaze analysis, and thermoluminescence dating, collaborating with specialists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the Smithsonian Institution. Research focuses on provenance studies using petrography and geochemical sourcing to distinguish kilns such as Longquan, Jingdezhen, and unidentified Southeast Asian production centers. Conservation practice follows guidelines developed with the International Council of Museums and training exchanges with the British Museum Conservation Department. Publications include a peer-reviewed bulletin and catalogues produced jointly with University of Sydney and National University of Singapore scholars.
Housed in a purpose-built complex near the Gulf of Thailand coast, the museum integrates exhibition halls, climate-controlled storage, and an on-site conservation laboratory. Architectural references draw from regional terracotta motifs and traditional Thai rooflines, conceived by architects educated at Tokyo University and University of Pennsylvania School of Design. Facilities include a digital imaging studio for high-resolution ceramic photography, a kiln reconstruction exhibit, and a reference library with rare catalogs from the Oriental Ceramic Society and archival maps of the Maritime Silk Road.
Educational activities include guided tours for school groups from institutions like Chonburi Technical College and Assumption University, hands-on workshops in wheel-throwing and glazing led by master potters from Sukhothai, and teacher-training programs run with the UNESCO Bangkok office. Community outreach targets preservation of local kiln sites and involves collaboration with indigenous craft collectives in Isan and coastal fisher communities near Laem Chabang. Digital outreach comprises online lectures with scholars from Bryn Mawr College and a virtual collection portal linked to the Digital Public Library of America.
The museum is accessible via road from Bangkok and via rail services connecting to Chonburi and Pattaya, with visitor amenities including a café serving traditional Thai refreshments, a museum shop stocking reproductions and academic publications, and wheelchair access. Opening hours, ticketing tiers for students and seniors, and scheduled guided tours are posted seasonally and coordinated with national holidays such as Songkran and Loy Krathong.
Category:Museums in Thailand Category:Ceramics museums