Jars like this were used in Laos at festivals or celebratory events, such as the rice festival. Celebrants sat around the jar drinking a sweet, spicy rice wine (ruon) through curved reeds (can). The jar is typical of a type of large ceramic wine or storage vessel produced in the so-called Angkorean region of Southeast Asia, which at its zenith extended from Cambodia to southern Laos and across to northeastern Thailand. Since such vessels were produced for domestic use and not as articles of trade, they are rarely found outside Southeast Asia. Characteristically, they were heavily potted with a tall oval body, sloping shoulders decorated with pinched lugs and a narrow mouth.

Asian Art Department, AGNSW, June 2003