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

84 Charles Nelson Spinks
tedly lost its indentity and was sold as Chinese goods. By this
process the products of the Sawankalok kilns were carried in some
quantities to India and possibly even as far west as Egypt, for the
Fostat finds contained shards among the Chinese celadon fragment.s
which are believed to be pieces of Sawanlmlok. But the various
Asiatic dealers who frequented such trading centers as Martaban,
Aynthia and Mergui were, we may assume, shrewd fellows who
were undoubtedly well aware that the products of Sawanlmlok could
not be substituted for the s11perior celadon of China in any trade
with the more discriminating customers of India and the Near East.
It appears, therefore, that the principal markets for Sawanlmlok
were among the less demanding peoples of Java, Borneo and the
Philippines, for it is in these islands that the largest finds of
Siamese ware have been discovered nu tside the kiln sites in Siam. In
other wnrds, Sawanlmlok pottery, being inferior in quality to
Chinese celadon, was shipped to those parts of the East where there
were suitable markets for what were regarded as second-grade
goods. The same practical considerations we know governed the
export of all ceramics from China, the flner wares going to India
and the Near East, while the coarse, crude potteries were shipped
to Java, Borneo and the Philippines.
The Demand for Large Water Jars and the Martaban Trade
There is one notable exception to this, however, namely, the
great demand which p1•evailed throughout India and even in the
Near East as well as throughout Southeast Asia for large jars for
storing water, oil or wine. Many of these vessels were of crude
workmanship, although we today have come to admire them for
theh• artistic qualities, 'rhese jars were also in great demand by
the Indian, At•ab and early Enropean traders who found them a
convenient cargo, not only for storing fresh water for the long
voyages but also as containers for other more valuable commodities.
The provincial kilns of South China and those of Sawankalok
endeavored to meet the great demand for these jars. As
we noted, the product!! of Sawan1ralok were probably first
exported by way of Martaban. For some reason the trade in:.