Thailand Guide
The central plains
Sangkhalok Museum
Opening time: Mon– Fri 8am–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–8pm
Price: B100
Address: 2km east of New Sukhothai on Highway 101
If you have a serious interest in ceramics you'll probably enjoy the Sukhothai-era exhibits at the privately owned Sangkhalok Museum. The ground floor odisplays ceramic artefacts from twelfth- to sixteenth-century Sukhothai, including water pipes used in the city's widely admired irrigation system, and the lotus-bud lamps whose gracefully shaped perforations both shield the flame and diffuse its light and are still as popular in Thailand today. Some of the finest pieces are the bowls with scalloped rims and bluish-green patterns and the characteristically expressive figurines; unusually, many of these works are signed by the potter. This style of pottery has become known as Sangkhalok, after the prosperous city of Sawankhalok, near Si Satchanalai, which was part of the kingdom of Sukhothai at that time. Also on show are ceramics from twelfth-century Burma, China and Vietnam, all of which were found in the area and so show who the citizens of Sukhothai were trading with at that time, as well as some of the most exquisite ceramics that were produced in northern Thailand during the Lanna era (thirteenth to sixteenth centuries). Upstairs, the focus is on the cultural significance of certain artefacts and their recurring motifs.