Large Hexagonal Martaban Jar

Antique hexagonal Martaban Jar, decorated with dragons, bamboo, and phoenixes. Southeast Asia, 19th/20th century.

• Good condition, no cracks or accidents. On the neck, an overglaze casting.
• Provenance: Estate of Claude de Marteau. Sold with certificate of provenance.
• H 76 cm Diameter 55 cm
• Neck diameter: 55 cm

Hexagonal Martaban jar – usage and distribution in Southeast Asia

Large hexagonal so-called Martaban jar, in dark-glazed stoneware, intended for the storage and transport of goods. This type of container, produced in Burma (Myanmar) and widely distributed via maritime routes, was used throughout Southeast Asia to preserve water, grains, spices, as well as fermented or medicinal preparations.

The Peranakans, descendants of Chinese traders settled in Southeast Asia — notably in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia — integrated these Martaban jars into their daily lives. Imported via regional trade networks, they occupied a functional place in homes, testifying to the intensity of exchanges between the Chinese and Malay worlds.

The thick stoneware construction, combined with a dense glaze, gives these jars excellent impermeability as well as great mechanical resistance, explaining their success and wide distribution.

The presented specimen is distinguished by its hexagonal shape and by surface irregularities characteristic of antique artisanal productions: the facets are not strictly flat and show slight variations in tension in the material, visible depending on the angle of light (see photos).

A comparable specimen is kept at the Peranakan Museum, Singapore, formerly attached to the Asian Civilisations Museum, confirming the integration of these jars into Peranakan material cultures.