Thai-Lao Ethnographic Collection
In 1981, Joyce White, who had been conducting field research in Thailand for 18 months in the village of Ban Chiang, received a telegram from the Penn Museum requesting that she make a collection of everyday items illustrative of traditional village life. Ban Chiang was the location for excavations by Penn Museum and the Thai Fine Arts Department in 1974 and 1975. White’s ethnobotanical research was part of the Penn Museum Ban Chiang Archaeological Project, and that work had prepared her well for the task.
Joyce had been working with a local farmer, Li Hirionatha, to collect and document traditional knowledge of plants in the region. Over the course of the final two months of that research, Joyce and Li meticulously put together a collection of representative objects of the area noting the name and function of each piece, as well as where it was purchased and when, and other data. The collection consists of examples of everything from ox carts and fishing traps to looms and ceramics.
In the summer of 2024, Thai-Isaan Material Culture Specialist, Nichanan Klangwichi, spent three months at the Penn Museum updating and expanding the cataloging of the collection. Object names and villages are now in both English and Thai. The description includes fuller cultural context and plant names for materials, as well as bibliographic references for further study.
Below you can explore the collection with various filters such as on material and function. To see, for example, all the objects used for fishing, click on the “Subject” filter on the lower left, then select “Fishing Equipment”.
- Object[86]
- no[86]
- asian[86]
- armlet[1]
- axe head[1]
- basket[5]
- basket tray[1]
- betel knife[1]
- betel tray[1]
- bird cage[1]
- bird trap[2]
- blowgun[1]
- bobbin basket[1]
- bouquet basket[1]
- box[2]
- box lid[2]
- breast cloth[1]
- carrying basket[2]
- cart wheel[2]
- chicken restrainer[1]
- clothing basket[2]
- clothing storage basket[2]
- coconut grater[1]
- cotton roller[1]
- cowbell[1]
- crossbow[1]
- drill[1]
- eel trap exterior[1]
- eel trap interior[1]
- fan[1]
- fermenting jar[1]
- fish basket[1]
- fish container[1]
- fish fence[1]
- fish strainer[1]
- fish trap[2]
- floating fish container[1]
- floating fish trap[1]
- food tray[1]
- frog trap[1]
- garment[1]
- iron[1]
- knife[2]
- knife sheath[1]
- lid[1]
- massage instrument[1]
- mousetrap[1]
- offerings basket[1]
- paddle[1]
- pillow[1]
- plowshare[1]
- rabbit trap[3]
- rat trap[1]
- rice basket[1]
- rice steamer[1]
- rice turning board[1]
- rope making frame[1]
- scissors[1]
- serving plate[2]
- shoulder bag[1]
- shoulder basket[2]
- shoulder cloth[1]
- silk basket[1]
- silk basket lid[1]
- silk spool[1]
- skein winder[2]
- skirt[1]
- spindle[1]
- spool[2]
- spoon[1]
- steamer[1]
- sticky rice steamer[1]
- strainer[1]
- support[1]
- thread winder[2]
- tray[4]
- water bowl[1]
- water buffalo cart[1]
- water buffalo cart chassis[1]
- water buffalo cart part[1]
- water flask[1]
- yoke[1]
- ban chiang[86]
- ban jid[1]
- china[1]
- thailand[86]
- udon thani[86]
- ban chiang[86]
- 20th century[1]
- floral[1]
- agricultural tools and equipment[2]
- animal husbandry tools and equipment[3]
- betel chewing tools and equipment[4]
- ceremonial object[3]
- clothing[3]
- container[6]
- cotton production[1]
- cultivation equipment[1]
- cutting tool[3]
- distribution & transportation objects[5]
- drinking vessel[1]
- fiberworking tools and equipment[1]
- fishing equipment[9]
- food processing tools and equipment[9]
- food service tools and equipment[6]
- household accessory[6]
- household equipment[1]
- hunting equipment[2]
- jewelry[1]
- metalworking tools and equipment[1]
- personal artifacts[2]
- rice production[5]
- silk production[3]
- smoking & recreational drug equipment[2]
- textileworking tools and equipment[7]
- tools and equipment[1]
- transportation artifacts[8]
- trapping equipment[8]
- weights & measures tools and equipment[2]
- woodworking tools and equipment[2]
- bamboo[41]
- basketry[8]
- brass[4]
- ceramic[1]
- chemical dye[1]
- cloth[1]
- coconut shell[1]
- cotton thread[1]
- iron[7]
- mai bong[1]
- mai bueay[1]
- mai duu[1]
- mai kawk kan[1]
- mai khaaw[3]
- mai khaen khayawm[1]
- mai kung[2]
- mai maak lueam[1]
- mai rai[1]
- mai yaw paa[1]
- mai yung[1]
- metal[13]
- natural dye[1]
- natural dyes[1]
- nylon[4]
- plastic[1]
- rattan[13]
- reed (plant)[3]
- silk[2]
- stoneware[1]
- string[4]
- thread[1]
- twine[1]
- undyed silk[1]
- vine[1]
- wicker[1]
- wire[1]
- wood[32]
- type citation[33]
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