Laos: Ceramics

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OVERVIEW:

Traditional crafts

Historical background

Buddhist painting and sculpture

Other Lao crafts

Ceramics

Pottery dating back to the 3rd and 2nd centuries CE has been unearthed at Ban Pako near Vientiane, indicating that ceramic production has a long history in Laos.

In 1970 fragments of both glazed and unglazed ware dating from the 15th to the 17th centuries were excavated from the Sisatthanak Kiln Site in Vientiane's Sisatthanak District, suggesting that during the Lane Xang era Lao kilns were producing high-quality celadon. Excavations in the vicinity of Ban Xang Hai on the outskirts of Luang Prabang in 1991 also revealed the remains of kilns and fragments of brown glazed jars.

Modern ceramic production in Laos is undertaken mainly on an industrial basis by companies working in major centres of population such as Vientiane or Savannakhet. However, a few traditional ceramics villages have survived and continue to produce utilitarian pottery items aimed at both the domestic and foreign markets. Perhaps the best-known of these is Ban Chan in Luang Prabang.

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