Producer unknown to us
Pot with lid
Asia, Thailand
Prior to 1913
Pottery
Karl Siegfried Döhring (engineer, art historian, archaeologist)
Donation to the museum by Döhring in 1913
SAs 07993
In the 19th and early 20th century, vessels like this red-brown lidded pot served to store foods, perhaps fish sauce (nam pla). The four humps on the sides facilitated the hanging or tying of the vessel. Like the small lion figure on the lid, they also refer to the cultural influences of Chinese immigrants on Thai culture.
The collector, Karl Döhring, was a German architect who had been in the Thai (back then Siamese) government service from 1906. He was involved in modern urban planning and contributed to the construction of the Royal Residence in Phetchaburi and other palace buildings. At the same time, he was deeply interested in Thai culture, especially architecture, on which he also wrote his doctoral thesis and other publications.
During a convalescent stay in Germany in 1911, he contacted several ethnological museums. Among them was the Leipzig ethnological museum to which he eventually bequeathed extensive collections of handicrafts, as well as everyday objects.
Dietmar Grundmann