A RARE DARK-BROWN GLAZED STONEWARE ‘OX’ LIME POT, ANGKOR PERIOD
Lot 132 - SING0925

Khmer Empire, 11th-13th century. The rotund body, supported on four stout feet and rising to a small circular mouth with a gently tapering rim encircled with an incised decorative band. Modeled in the form of a stylized ox, with a bushy tail swinging along one side and a prominent head marked by long curved horns, bulging eyes, small nostrils, and a slightly open mouth suggesting a whimsical smile. The forehead of the animal subtly incised with a triangular decorative design. The pot covered in an opaque dark brown glaze, stopping evenly before reaching the base to reveal the underlying buff-colored ware.

Provenance: Private collection of A. Hansen, Denmark. Mr. Hansen (b. 1955) is a retired Danish Supreme Court lawyer and lifelong collector with a deep passion for history and culture. His collecting journey began at the age of eight with stamps, encouraged by his father, and quickly developed into a serious pursuit. By 1982, his specialized collection of Greenland postal history earned international recognition. Following this success, Mr. Hansen turned his focus to fine art and antiquities, beginning with Danish art and later expanding into East and Southeast Asian artifacts after an inspiring Japanese exhibition in 1985. Over the following decades, his collection grew to include mostly ceramic artworks from Annam, Khmer, Burmese, and Thai origins, acquired through reputable collectors and auction houses.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age, with ancient wear and firing irregularities, traces of weathering, few notches, repair to one horn, and small areas with soil encrustation.

Weight: 591.0 g
Dimensions: Length 16.1 cm

By the late 6th or early 7th century, Khmer potters adopted the potter’s wheel, greatly improving vessel production. A Khmer inscription from 674 even compares the act of creation to the turning of the wheel. Early ceramics were occasionally decorated with slip and pigment, a practice largely abandoned after 800 AD with the rise of glazed stoneware.

The first glazed ceramics in Southeast Asia outside of direct Chinese influence appeared under Khmer kings Indravarman I and Yasovarman I (ca. 880–940). By the 11th century, Khmer wares featured refined, gray-toned clay and the introduction of zoomorphic motifs, such as the stylized rat on the present vessel. After 1100, animal-shaped containers often displayed applied moldings, incised patterns, and glossy brown glazes, with gourd-shaped forms becoming especially popular.

Khmer potters made animal-shaped containers and lidded small jars to be used for holding lime paste, one of the ingredients in the betel quid. Made from areca nut and lime paste wrapped in a fresh betel leaf, the betel quid was chewed as a digestive and stimulant but also had an important role in hospitality and in social and religious rituals. Pottery containers for lime paste were made in graduated sizes, for use by individuals or larger groups, and glazed with both green and brown glazes.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related brown glazed stoneware lime pot in the form of a horse, Khmer Empire (present-day Cambodia), pre-Sawankhalok period, dated 13th-14th century, 9.0 cm high, illustrated in: Diana Stock (ed.), Khmer Ceramics: 9th-14th Century, 1981, p. 137, no. 95. Compare a related dark brown glazed zoomorphic lime pot in the shape of an elephant, Khmer Empire (present-day Northeast Thailand), Bayon period, dated late 12th-late 13th century, 18.0 cm high, held by the Bangkok National Museum, and illustrated in: Roxanna Brown, The ceramics of South-East Asia: their dating and identification, 1977, color pl. M, no. 4.