1. (Louise Cort, 16  April 2004)  Both these vessels (F2004.35  and 36) bear the same four-character hallmark, Jintang  Faji, pertaining to the private workshop where the  vessels were made to order. The mark appears on the base of the water bottle  and on both the cap and the base of the tea canister.

2. (Louise Cort, 21  January 2005) The Philadelphia Museum of Art acquired two porcelain cups,  decorated with cobalt in the same "coin" pattern as the Freer jar,  from the Doris Duke Collection of Southeast Asian Art (2003.222.4–5). One other  cup (2003.222.6) bears a textile-like geometric pattern, and another one  (2003.222.7) bears Chinese-style sprays of pomegranate, Buddha-hand citron, a  peach, and the character for longevity. The mouth rims and foot rims of this  cup are bound in brass. A spittoon (2003.222.18) bears the same motifs as  2003.222.7. All four cups and the spittoon bear the same four-character mark as  the two Freer pieces. The PAM also acquired Chinese  porcelain decorated in lai nam  thong and bencharong modes, but they are unmarked.

3. (Louise Cort, 25  January 2005) The Osotspa Ceramic Collection in  Bangkok owns a tea set that includes two Yixing-type  teapots and a group of blue-and-white porcelain lidded bowls, cups, and  saucers. The decoration, like that of the bottle F2004.35, alternates Chinese  auspicious plant motifs with the initials of King Rama V (ruled 1868–1910) of  the Chakri dynasty (Pariwat  et. al. 1996, fig. 231). The caption explains that the initials are in the  arrangement known in Thai as ci bo and that the set was ordered from China  in 1888.

According to the text (ibid., 227–228), even though European  ceramics came into fashion, "several Chinese ceramic contests were  held" during the reign of Rama V, who preferred Chinese blue-and-white  wares. "He had Phraya Wissakam Silapa Prasit order that tea sets  with his initials be made at the Jingdezhen  kilns in Jiangxi  province in 1888. M. C. Prawit Chumsai,  generally called in Thai, Tan Tong, created the designs by adapting the  abbreviation of the king's royal title, Cho Po Ro, into twelve styles imitating  Chinese characters and motifs." First on the list is "the royal  initials in Chinese style"; the twelfth is "lai  luk mai aksorn  phra nam (royal initials  lace)."

"H.R.H. Prince Damrong Rajanubhab assumed that the tea sets of King Rama V were  ordered twice, the first set by the royal command to be distributed to the  nobles and various countries and the second by Phraya Choduk  Rajsetthi (Huak) by royal  permission. Items of the first set have the mark of the year on the bases.  Since this set was for royal distribution, purchase or sale was not possible. Items of the second set bear the Chinese characters Kim Teng Huak Ki  (Jin Tang Fa Ji)."

"H.R.H. Prince Damrong Rajanubhab said in his book A History of Ceramics and  Pottery that not only the tea sets but a set of Chinese trays, a pair of  Thai-style miniature jars, a pair of sets of Thai teacups, a set of small  Vietnamese teacups, a bottle with saucer for cold water, a cup with a saucer  for cold water, a large and small bowl to contain the tea residue, an ewer and  a large and a small spittoon had been ordered."

This and the water bottle bear the hallmarks Jin Tang Fa Ji and so were made as part of  the second order. I had understood the four-character mark to be that of a  Chinese workshop, but seemingly it means "Made to the order of the Brocade  Hall [Thai royal court?]."

Pariwat Thammapreechakorn, Lertrit Sawang, and Kritsada Pinsri.  1996. Sinlapa khrư̄ang thûai  nai Prathēt Thai  (Ceramic Art in Thailand).  2nd ed. Bangkok:  Ostospa Co. Ltd.

4. (Louise Cort, 14  February 2005) Dr. Supapan Seraphin,  a chemist at Arizona   State University,  noted that some of the designs within the circular motifs were made up of Thai  syllables.

5. (Louise Cort, 27  March 2008) The Los Angeles County Museum of Art received a teapot with this  motif from the Doris Duke collection (M.2003.231.10a–b). The pot has a sculpted  brass handle.

6. (Louise Cort, 19 April 2012) Pariwat Thammapreechakorn wrote: "It was said in the book Tamnan reuang khreuang thou lae thou pan (A History of Tableware and Pottery), written by H.R.H. Prince Damrong Rajanubhab, a son of King Rama IV, that King Rama V ordered someone to create 10 motifs from his monogram by drawing up a Chinese style in 1888. There are several typographical errors in this book, especially its numbers. I have tried to count all motifs as its list serveral times, but I can count up to 11 motifs including:

From the study later, it is generally believed that that artist may be M.C. (or H.H.Prince) Pravij Jumsai, a cousin of King Rama V and a nephew of King Rama III, a famous artist who created the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Siam during the reign of King Rama V.

According to comparative images that Pariwat provided, this cannister bears the motif known as lai ka pae, a motif of the royal monogram in the form of an ancient coin.

7. (Louise Cort, 29 October 2014) Further information about porcelain made in Jingdezhen for the Thai market is given in Pimpraphai (2014).

A tea caddy of this shape appears in a set of porcelain vessels described as a tea set with King Chulalongkorn's Jor Por Ror monogram (p. 114, fig. 27). The set also includes two large and two small lidded tea cups and two Yixing-style tea pots set in a matching brass tray, a hot water pot, a spittoon, and the caddy.

The four-character mark that appears on the base of this bottle is said to read (in Teochow dialect) "Kim Tung Huad Kee" (Mandarin "Jin Tang Fa Ji"), and to have been the brand mark used by a Bangkok-based Chinese merchant, Li Fa Zhou, after he became head of the family business circa 1879 (p. 114). After King Mongkut stopped sending trading missions to China in 1853, orders for Chinese porcelain were handled not by the Siamese state trading monopoly but by such merchants working on behalf of the king (p. 110). Li Fa Zhou is said to have been a favorite of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who conferred on him the official title Phraya Bariboon Kosakorn. When the king ordered tea sets bearing his monogram, Jor Por Ror, to welcome monks performing religious ceremonies in the palace, he assigned Phraya Baribook Kosakorn the responsibility of ordering he sets from China. "All of these pieces in these sets had a royal reign mark on the bottom [see p. 115, fig. 28] and the date equivalent to 1888 written in Thai script" (p. 114).

"King Chulalongkorn's blue and white monogram tea sets were so admired in Bangkok that Phraya Bariboon Kosakorn placed another order with the same motifs, but this time without seeking royal approval. The second lot of Jor Por Ror blue and white porcelain thus bore the mark of Jin Tang Fa Ji, instead of the reign mark and date that had been included in the original order. The king was reportedly displeased, and the goods were confiscated and stored at the Tax Office warehouse until the late 20th century" (p. 114).

Pimpraphai Bisalputra. 2014. Chinese blue and white ceramics with Siamese motifs: A personal and social history. Arts of Asia vol. 44, no. 5 (September-October), pp. 104-116.