Plate with “black crow” motif

In 1933, archaeologists discovered some 200 kilns at Kalong, yielding evidence of the production of high-fired ceramic wares for domestic consumption during the height of the Lan Na Kingdom (1300s–1500s). Kalong potters made use of a clay containing a high percentage of kaolin to create elegant ceramics characterized by a chalky, buff body and a faint glaze the color of a gray rain cloud. Within the broader tradition of Thai ceramics, Kalong wares are noteworthy for their painterly underglaze designs, with loose brushstrokes evocatively conjuring the natural world. Here, the bulbous body of the vase features a fish darting in a sea of water plants, and the dish presents an abstract motif the Thai call “black crow.”