Minneapolis Institute of Art

Lime Jar in the Form of an Elephant

Khmer artist

Date

11th–12th century

Medium

Khmer ware Stoneware with molded decor under brown glaze

Culture

Khmer

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

By the early 1000s, much of Thailand had been consolidated under Khmer rule (802–1437 CE). A highway linking the Khorat Plateau—site of Ban Chiang ceramic production, an example of which is in the case at far left—to Angkor (in present-day Cambodia) increased regional trade and the distribution of distinctive chocolate-glazed ceramics in animal forms. This regally attired elephant resembles those used in Khmer royal processions. Such a ceramic container likely stored lime, an ingredient used in the preparation of betel, a mild stimulant popular throughout Southeast Asia.

The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.