Smithsonian Museum Asian Art Prehistoric Spirals Earthenware Exhibit Washington DC USA // WASHINGTON D.C., United States — Ancient Thai ceramics sit in illuminated glass vitrines surrounding a large, red-swirled floor decal at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. These earthenware vessels, characterized by their distinct red-painted spiral motifs, originate from the Ban Chiang culture of northeastern Thailand's Khorat Plateau more than two millennia ago. Originally functioning as objects of prestige and remembrance, the ceramics were ritually interred in gravesites alongside the decea

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