Ceramic containers.

The bharani, martavan or tempayan originated in south China, Vietnam and Thailand as ceramic containers and domestic utensils and are found throughout Indonesia. Many of those found in India were brought there as containers of trade goods [rice, oil etc] during the 5th through 19th centuries and even today it is possible to find 14th century jars tucked away in the yards of knowledgeable antiquarians. Modern equivalents of the large Bharani sell for around $1,200 and the medium Bharani are $950. All of our collection is of pieces that are older than 100 years and some possibly from the 1850's.

Bharani: cer02 circa 1880 $3,500

37 inch diameter, 41 inches high

Bharani: cer05 $850

18 inch diameter, 28 inches high

The opening of the Indonesian interior in 1975 flooded that market with old jars from Kalimantan but at the same time stimulated the world market. In 1977 kilns in Java and Pontinak, west Kalimantan once more started to produce glazed stoneware and porcellaneous jars in the antique style. Thus we now see in Indonesia four types of ceramic jars, ranging from antiques, to antiques that are redecorated, through antique replicates, to new designs using antique concepts.

In India on the other hand, most of the jars are antiques or early vintage brought in during or before British rule.

A rarer kind of ceramic jar found in India was used as a camel pack. These are narrow based and were slung in pairs, on either side of a camel, through holding loops. They were used to carry grain or other materials across the desert in north-western India and are colloquially known as Afghani jars. Some of these jars have a hole, plugged with a wooden dowel, near the basal ring. This was pulled to release the contained grain.

Our Afghani Jars were brought into the Ahmedabad region of India from the north-west. These storage jars are note-worthy antiques and relatively rare in the area.