Benjarong Porcelain from Thailand

One of Thailand's many great décor items is the Benjarong porcelain collections and styles you can find. It is a traditional form of Thai porcelain. It consists of multi-colored enamels on a white porcelain base, and it came from the Ming dynasty in China. The name “Benjarong” was derived from the Bali and Sanskrit words Benja and Rong, meaning literally “Five Colors.” “Five Colors” really means “many colors” because the hand-painted pieces are usually decorated in three, five, eight, or even more colors. 
Benjarong porcelain can be easily recognized by distinctive design features:
• The decoration is densely painted and very delicately detailed. Most patterns are symmetrical base on geometrical designs.
• Benjarong wares were enameled with relief glaze, emphasizing the background color, while the Chinese wares were thinly painted and never emphasized the background color.
• Dazzling attractiveness be used of lavish gold.
• Patterns include traditional Thai motifs, such as flora, plant, and flame designs, as well as cultural symbols, such as The Garuda (the half-man half-bird mount of the god Vishnu and a symbol of Thai royalty), the emblem of the Thai king.
In the 13th – 18th century, Benjarong porcelain was exclusively made for the royal court. Later, its use extended to aristocrats and wealthy merchants; today, people of all nationalities use Benjarong for formal wear.
The designs on the earliest Benjarong used a limited number of colors, mostly for religious subjects, but eventually, a new design style grew known as “Lai Nam Thong,” which used gold as its distinctive color. In the reign of King Rama II (1809-1851), Lai Nam Thong wares with gorgeous gold accents were very popular. Today, the original Benjarong wares are displayed at the Thai National Museum in Bangkok.