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Hand painted Benjarong and fine bone china from Thailand

The Excellent Art Of Thailand

'Benjarong' is the name of the hand painted bone china and porcelain that is unique to Thailand. Originally designed to be used solely by the royal court, in more recent years it has become available to the public as well. The delicate and intricate designs are famous throughout the world, with China and Japan being the main importers of Benjarong from Thailand.

Benjarong is available in an amazing range of 31 different patterns, some of which date back as far as the Ming Dynasty. Today, Benjarong is available in a number of forms including: dinner ware, coffee services, tea pots, candlesticks, cups, mugs, vases, boxes, lamp bases and salad bowls. Making Benjarong requires a high level of skill and imagination. Each piece bears on its base, the signature of the artist who created the unique piece of work.

The word 'Benjarong' was coined from two languages – ‘benja' is Balinese and ‘rong' is Sanskrit, together they mean 'five colors'. Traditionally, the five colors used to make Benjarong were red, yellow, green, blue and white. In recent times, two more colors have also been included – high quality gold and maroon. Over the centuries, the designs on Benjarong have become more sophisticated. Today, the Thai artists use innovative techniques to design and color the porcelain and bone china ware. Still, the basic elements of Benjarong remain the same and include images such as the lotus, the rose and the emblems of the Supan and Chakri Dynasties. The chief characteristic of Benjarong china is that it is densely, yet delicately painted with an enamel relief glaze that emphasizes the background of the design; this is then further accentuated by gold.

The process of making Benjarong is known to just a handful of families, the secrets only being passed down from generation to generation. These families guard the secrets of how Benjarong is made, how the colors should be mixed and how the patterns and the paints are applied. In fact, the only thing we do know is that the white base clays are fired first, after which they are polished. Next, a thin layer of white paint is applied to each piece, followed by a further firing, which helps to create the ultra shiny appearance of the glaze.

When applying the delicate patterns and designs to Benjarong, the Thai artist uses circular guide lines on a turning wheel. It is imperative that the initial pattern is correct as it is crucial to the final design and so only master craftsmen and highly skilled painters who have gained enough experience over the years are trusted with this precious task. After the item is painted, it will be fired again to make the enamel a glass matrix and permanent. The finished effect never fades and is durable enough to resist scratching and staining of any kind.

Copyright 2008 Asia Products LLC. Christopher Snyder is the Managing Director of Asia Products LLC. Living in Bangkok, Thailand, Christopher sells an interesting array of Thai art from his website: www.asiaproductsllc.com and sells hand painted Benjarong and Thai fine bone china from: www.asiaproductsllc.com/benjarong.html.