A PAINTED POTTERY STEM CUP, BAN CHIANG, 1ST MILLENNIUM BC The deep rounded sides supported on a tall spreading foot and rising to an everted rim, decorated with even red lines forming geometric designs on the creamy-white ware.

Provenance: Dutch trade.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Wear, signs of weathering and erosion, few chips, minor losses to the paint, no fills or restorations. A Ban Chiang piece in such well-preserved condition is considered to be rare.

Weight: 1,450 g
Dimensions: Height 18.9 cm

Ban Chiang, denotes an archeological site located in Nong Han district, Udon Thani Province, Thailand. Discovered in 1957, the site attracted enormous publicity due to its distinctive red painted pottery. During the first formal scientific excavation in 1967, archaeologists unearthed several skeletons, together with bronze grave gifts and unglazed earthenware pots which had been low-fired and painted red with unique, highly expressive and characteristic designs.

A subsequent excavation at Ban Chiang in 1974-1975 was followed by an article by Chester Gorman and Pisit Charoenwongsa, claiming evidence for the earliest dates in the world for bronze casting and iron working. Subsequent excavations, including that at Ban Non Wat, have now shown that the proposed early dates for Ban Chiang are unlikely. The first datings of the artifacts used the thermoluminescence technique, resulting in a range from 4420-3400 BC, which would have made the site the earliest Bronze Age culture in the world. These dates stirred worldwide interest. Thermoluminescence dating of pottery was at the time an experimental technique and had been applied to Ban Chiang sherds of uncertain provenance. However, with the 1974-1975 excavation, sufficient material became available for radiocarbon dating. Re-analysis by radiocarbon dating suggested that a more likely date for the earliest metallurgy at Ban Chiang was c. 2000-1700 BCE. A date of 2100 BCE was obtained from rice phytoliths taken from inside a vessel taken from the lowest grave, which had no metal remains. The youngest grave was about 200 CE. Bronze making began circa 2000 BCE, as evidenced by crucibles and other fragments. A contrasting analysis was conducted by Charles Higham of the University of Otago using the bones of the people who lived at Ban Chiang and the bones of animals interred with them. The resulting determinations were analyzed using Bayesian statistics and the results suggested that the initial settlement of Ban Chiang took place about 1500 BCE, with the transition to the Bronze Age about 1000 BCE. The chronology of Ban Chiang metallurgy is still in considerable dispute.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related jar, dated 3^rd century BC to 3^rd century AD, in the collection of the British Museum, museum number 1972,0919.1.