The royal cities of Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai in north-central Thailand were at the heart of one of the largest ceramic-producing centres in Southeast Asia during the 14th century. Si Satchanalai, which was later renamed Sawankhalok, came to refer to ceramics that originated from either of these two areas. Thai wares such as this iron-brown spotted jarlet have been found widely distributed from the Philippines, Java and Sulawesi to Japan. In Java and Sulawesi, they were used for ritual purposes as burial objects or 'pusaka' or heirlooms while in Japan, they were used in the tea ceremony tradition.
