# anyone every try "banjalom" porcelain?



## Dave O'Dottu (Jul 15, 2009)

Porcelain cup and saucer sets and various types of bowls and vases are sold in Thailand. 

They are said to be hand painted and always features a great deal of gold. The designs painted on them are very intricate. 

It is expensive. A demi-tasse cup and saucer (two pieces) is priced initially at 990 baht. 

has anyone bought and used any of it who could attest to its quality?


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## Mweiga (Sep 24, 2010)

*Benjarong porcelain*



Dave O'Dottu said:


> Porcelain cup and saucer sets and various types of bowls and vases are sold in Thailand.
> 
> They are said to be hand painted and always features a great deal of gold. The designs painted on them are very intricate.
> 
> ...


Noticed no response to your query on Benjarong. I've collected quite a bit of it , some of which gets used. The quality varies greatly depending on the producer but the good stuff is really good - if you look at a wide selection from several different vendors over a period of time you'll get fairly expert at judging quality. A good place to buy quality stuff at a resonable price is Chatuchak (weekend market) at Mochit , BKK - you'll be able to bargain down to about a third cheaper than in the average fancy shops and malls. Your initial 990 baht price quoted for cup and saucer , assuming top quality, is perhaps a shade on the high side but not way out. You should be able to get that down to around 500 baht at Chatuchak.

Benjarong (from Balinese "Benja" and Sanskrit "Rong" words meaning "five colours") was developed from a Chinese style involving handpainted multi-coloured enamels on white porcelain originating in the Ming dynasty and imported into Siam. During the first half of the 19th century in the Rama 2 period the use of gold colouring became popular and set the pattern for modern day Benjarong which uses anything from 3 to 8 or more colours.

Proper quality Benjarong is made from bone china and the best quality decoration is slightly "raised" - run your finger over it and you'll feel this.


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