The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. XLIV, Part 1-2, 1956 - Khamkoo

74 Charles Nelson Spinl\s
In this connection, an American pottery expert, Harding
Black, made an interesting experiment with two pieces of Sawankalok
and in June 1953 publishRd his findings in 'l'he Ji'ar Eastern
Oermm:c BulleUn. He 1·e-fhed two bowls from the collection of
Ed win L. Neville, former U nil eel States Minister to Siam. As
a result, theit• pale greenish-grey glaze changed to a typical
colaclon green. But something even more remarkable occurred which
gives this unusual exporimrnt a touch of historical elrama. As if by
magic, there appeat•ed on ewe uf the bowls as a result of the second
fidng an incised underglazc lotus decoration whieh had remained
invisible over the centuries.
'!'here has been consit1emble disagreement as to just how
long Sawanka1ok potLery was produce, and it has generally been held
that production continued until well into the 16th century if not
later. Roth Reginald le lVIay and Otley Beyer are of t.he opinion
that production ceased during the 16th century, bnt as le 1\!Iay has
cautiously noted, ''we shall probably nev('l' know defillit.ely." I am
inclined to lJelieve, l1owever, that production came to an end, at least
at the Sawank\lok sites, in the 15th century. Dt:11·ing most of this
period Sa\vankalok ocrmpied a precarious position in the series nf wars
waged by the Siamese of Ayuthia with t.he kingdoms of Chiengmai
and Luang Prabang. Sawunkalok was under attack a number of
times and a great part of the town was destroyed in 1460 and again
in 1464. Some years earlier a turn-coat governor deserted to
Chiengmai and reportedly took most of the population with him.
It waH probably because of circumstances like these that abandoned
kilns have been founcl at Sawankalok filled with unfinished pottery;
the potters either fled because of invasion or \Vere forcibly evacuated.
Accordingly, I believe Giga 'l'etsuji ( fl~J~Jnt.:::.. ), one of the foremost
Jap;mese authorities on Sawahkalok ware, may be correct in concluding
that production ceased because the pot.tel'S became so dispersed
that it was impossible to hold the inilustry together. Many of them
probably went to Chiengmai where they endeavored to carry on their
craft. For example, Giga found one lJOtter in Chiengmai who was still
making a ware with a greyish-green glaze which so closely resembled
Sawanka.lok that it was often sold in Bangkok's famous N akoru