Les jarres de stockage khmères (IXe-XIVe siècle)

Abstract

From the beginning of Khmer stoneware production, at the end of the ninth century CE, at least ten kilns manufactured large jars. The oldest jars, made in kilns around the City of Angkor, were similar to the Chinese jars of the Tang period. Most of the jars from this first group are unglazed. They show some evolution in the shape of the rim before the end of the production during the 11th or the 12th century. Later, a second group of three kiln sites, about 50 km east of Angkor, produced big brown glazed jars between the 12th and 14th centuries. Two other provincial kiln sites also produced large jars: Choeung Ek near Phnom Penh, which made unglazed jars, and Ban Kruat (Thailand). Their production probably began during the 11th century and lasted until the 14th century. The production of jars under the Khmer Empire was very important, with a lot of kiln sites in different regions, and a rich range of shapes. But archaeological evidence available so far seems to indicate that they were used only inside the Khmer territory, and not for sea trade.