Crafting pottery
Ban Thung Luang keeps alive ancient Sukhothai art
Story by KARNJANA KARNJANATAWE
For centuries residents of Ban Thung Luang in Sukhothai have been producing earthenware for home use but now their products, given their unique art lines and creative design, are also beginning to show great export potential. A visitor checks out earthernware items produced by the villagers.— KARNJANA KARNJANATAWE |
For centuries residents of Ban Thung Luang in Sukhothai have been producing earthenware for home use but now their products, with unique art lines and creative design, are also beginning to show great export potential. According to Ong-art Libpong, a potter with 20 years of experience, most households in this village in Khiri Mat district earn their living by sculpting clay.
''Take a walk through our village and you will find various choices of pottery,'' he said.
Ban Thung Luang has been a farm community since the Sukhothai period - from 1238 to 1438. The villagers made pottery when they were not too busy farming.
They used clay from rice fields to sculpt pots for storing water, cooking rice or keeping accessories.
A tourist admires an ancient Songkhalok kiln preserved at a study centre north of Si Satchanalai Historical Park |
That expertise, passed down from generation to generation, has found new admirers today. Pottery involves nine steps. They are: mixing clay with fine grains of sand, compressing, sculpting and design. Afterwards the items are placed in a huge oven, fired by charcoal, for two nights at 1,200 degrees Celsius.
In a day one potter can make up to 50 pieces, depending on size and design. One of the more admired specimens is pottery carved with Thai art. They are popular among resorts and hotels because, fitted with light bulbs, they make good room and garden decoration items.
Suthipong Chaiboontham runs his mother's pottery factory that has been operating for 17 years. The uniqueness of his products attracts customers nationwide, including foreigners.
''We specialise in a Thai art called 'Kruewan'. The details are more intricate than those made in Nakhon Sawan and Nakhon Ratchasima,'' he said.
The factory exports pottery to Malaysia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
''We are now trying to add variety by increasing our product lines, and among them are fish tanks with lighting and design patterns based on the lotus flower and so forth,'' he said.
The fish tanks have won Khiri Mat four-star Otop (one tambon, one product) rating.
The villagers at Ban Thung Luang welcome visitors with open arms. Their community should particularly appeal to people keen to learn ancient pottery as well as those looking for souvenirs at affordable prices.
residents
people who live in an area
earthenware
made of very hard baked clay
unique
being the one of its kind; very special and unusual
sculpting
making figures or objects by carving or shaping wood, stone, clay, metal, etc.
|
accessories
extra pieces of equipment that are useful but not essential or that can be added to something else as a decoration
fine
made of very small grains
compressing
pressing or squeezing together
specimens
examples
|
intricate
having a lot of different parts and small details that fit together
keen
eager; wanting to do something very much
souvenirs
things that you buy and/or keep to remind yourself of a place, an occasion or a holiday
affordable
not too expensive
|
| 
