Vessel

This extraordinary group of ceremonial vessels was discovered in the Lopburi-Pa Sak basin in central Thailand. The oldest settlements in this region date back over 3,000 years and have yielded several important Neolithic objects. While a few ceramic depictions of animals in Neolithic and Bronze Age Thailand are known, the water buffalo that stands as the centerpiece of this group exhibits an originality, creativity, and superb workmanship that has no comparison in early Thai ceramic art. It is also the largest pottery buffalo known from this period. Thermoluminesence tests show the vessels to date to around 1000 BCE.