Kendi

One of the most intriguing of South-East Asian vessels is the kendi, a water container with a rounded body, a straight neck with an opening, and a spout set at an angle on the shoulder. The story of the kendi is closely interwoven with the history of South-East Asia, kendi of pottery and porcelain having been recoved in sites dispersed over a vast area of Island South-East Asia. While comparison of excavated vessels indicates some were of native manufacture, being fashioned of porous...
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One of the most intriguing of South-East Asian vessels is the kendi, a water container with a rounded body, a straight neck with an opening, and a spout set at an angle on the shoulder. The story of the kendi is closely interwoven with the history of South-East Asia, kendi of pottery and porcelain having been recoved in sites dispersed over a vast area of Island South-East Asia. While comparison of excavated vessels indicates some were of native manufacture, being fashioned of porous local clay, the majority were non-porous glazed kendi of foreign origin. They formed part of the extensive trade in ceramics that flowed into the region from China, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam and which were specially manufactured for export for both household and ceremonial purposes. The kendi in the Muzium Seni-Asia, University of Malaya, form the world's largest public collection of kendi. Collectively spanning a period of over 1,000 years, and representing a number of countries in East and South-East Asia, they reflect differences in potting material, shape, and decoration and show how an ancient form has survived to the present. They thus provide important clues to the patterns of trade and cultures as well as the practices and customs that prevailed in the region at different periods.