Title
Vessel in the shape of a water buffalo
Year/Period
300 BCE-200 CE
Region
Dong Marum, Lopburi, Thailand
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: H: 21.6,
x L: 33.5,
x H: 10.8
x L: 33.5,
x H: 10.8
Accession No.
1996-00120
Collection of
This hand-built, ox-shaped pottery vessel still bears the fingerprints of its maker; clearly incised features of a water buffalo with an opening on the back for it to be used as a container. Made of low-fired earthenware, using coils of clay to construct the walls of the vessel, it was most likely used during important ceremonies and for burial purposes. The ox was probably symbolic of a farmer's wealth. It could also have been a symbol of animistic worship. Objects and motifs depicting the water buffalo were common in the prehistoric communities of Southeast Asia, associated particularly with wet rice cultivation.
