When I was the adviser for organising the 7th Asian-Pacific Congress of Clinical Biochemistry and Lab Medicine, I travelled to various parts of Thailand, from Bangkok, and Pattaya to Chiang Mai, to select the most appropriate city and hotel venue for the Congress.
Friends in Thailand brought me to a handicraft centre, large department store, Chatuchak Weekend Market, and private Prasart Museum. I was introduced to the Bencharong (Benjarong) porcelain. The name refers to the Chinese polychrome enamel ‘five coloured’ porcelain wares made in China’s Jingdezhen to Thai specifications in the 18th and 19th centuries. The word derives from the Sanskrit panch rang, meaning ‘five colours,’ same as the Chinese “wu cai.” This unique class of Chinese export ware was made exclusively for Thai royalty and the ruling elite in the late 18th and 19th centuries.
The Lai Nam Thong variant uses real gold on the surface of the Bencharong exclusively for Thai royalties. I am so glad to have acquired several gold-decorated ones at the Prasart Private Museum, which cost quite a lot more than the others.
