La céramique importée à Angkor : étude préliminaire

The recent French archaeological excavations which have taken place in Angkor under the responsibility of Jacques Gaucher were carried out - inter alia - in order to have a better understanding of the evolution of Angkor Thom city. They have supplied with a large amount of Khmer and imported ceramic sherds among the materials found. This article is a preliminary analysis of the imported ceramics. However the result of the stratigraphie study and the information concerning the associated Khmer ceramics have not yet been completed. Most of the imported ceramic assemblage uncovered is of Chinese origin but there are also some Vietnamese and Thai sherds. The first importations start in the 10th century : there are olive-green glazed bowls from the Yue kilns and stoneware bowls showing spur marks. Later on, the main imports largely consist of covered boxes from South China kilns. From the 13th century onwards, shapes are more varied even though there still is a large amount of covered boxes ; celadon wares from the Longquan kilns in Zhejiang, cream or white glazed bowls with unglazed rim and covered boxes decorated with scrolls in light relief made in Fujian Province kilns are representative of the ceramic assemblage available during this period. Sherds from large Blue-and-White dishes and from large celadon dishes testify a palatial environment in the 14th century. A few Blue-and-White sherds coming from small plates in the late 16th-early 17th century indicate that the site was occupied at this time. Some coarse export wares could refer to a late occupation of the site, at the time when Mouhot arrived in Angkor and met some Thai officials settled there. Aside the Chinese material, Vietnamese wares are represented by bowls with underglaze-iron brown or blue design, Thai ceramics by celadon from Si Satchanalai kilns and iron-black design bowls from Sukhothai kilns. Overall it appears that quite early and over a large period of time, Angkor Thom received sizeable amounts of imported ceramics, mostly from China. In the particular case of the present excavations, in the vicinity of Phimeanakas sanctuary, the very large proportion of covered boxes could most probably be linked to ritual or funerary functions.Le matériel céramique importé mis au jour par les fouilles françaises sur le site d'Angkor provient pour l'essentiel de Chine mais également du Vietnam et de Thaïlande. Il recouvre les périodes du Xe au XIVe siècle et de fin XVIe-début XVIIe siècle, ainsi que plus récemment le XIXe-XXe siècle. La présence d'un grand nombre de fragments de boîtes munies de couvercle à proximité du Phimeanakas pourrait correspondre à un usage particulier lié à des fonctions cultuelles ou funéraires.Dupoizat Marie-France. La céramique importée à Angkor : étude préliminaire. In: Arts asiatiques, tome 54, 1999. pp. 103-116