General background of Ancient Ceramics

Firing Stacking

Firing Placement

1. Arranging vessels on a flat floor in normal standing position.
2. Mounting a pair of vessels and placing each pair on a tubular support.
3. Inserting a disc between the vessels of each column of stacked vessels standing on the pontils.
4. Placing bullet-shaped wads in between the vessels of two stacked columns.
5. Laying the base of each vessel on a separate pontil.
6. Following method no.2 and supporting additional smaller vessels by discs. It is an evident that this method was employed for firing certain celadon ware at the Si Satchanalai kilns.

Firing Supports

A support is an object used to hold vessels while the vessels are being fired. It is made of anti-heating coarse-textured clay. Archaeological excavations reveal that there were both unglazed and glazed supports of different shapes, which can be classified into three types as follows:

1. Discs

Usually, this type of support has 3-8 knobs that serve as legs. Since a disc is relatively small, it does not occupy much space inside the kiln, leaving more room for vessels and helping save a lot of firewood. Archaeological evidence from excavations so far suggests that discs were widely used only at the Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai kilns during certain periods.

2. Tubular Supports or Pontils

Tubular supports have a some what high leg. Many broken and intact tubular supports have been found at almost all kiln sites in Thailand such as the Sukhothai, Si Satchanalai, and Wiang Ka Long kiln sites. Those found at Wiang Ka Long have a unique feature: the upper part is gently flared so that it can hold the vessels firmly. The width and height of the supports vary depending on the size of the vessels that were placed on them. Interestingly, a number of tubular supports, like discs, were decorated with incised designs, probably indicating the brand names of the potters.

3. Bullet-shaped Wads

This type of support has been discovered at kiln sites in Buri Ram Province, where a large number of Khmer ceramics were produced. It is also believed that tubular saggars of various sizes and forms were used to enclose vessels to prevent them from contamination by ash or smoke. The box-like saggars were made of durable clay.