From the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries Thai ceramics enjoyed brisk production and wide dispersal throughout Southeast Asia. Trade contact with the hard-bodied, glazed, nonporous ware of China and Vietnam spurred development of indigenous Thai earthenware and stoneware.

Recent archaeological discoveries reveal that Sawankhalok ware was prominent in the ceramic trade during the fifteenth century. According to textual sources, the kilns at Sawankhalok eventually superseded those at Sukhothai and prospered until the sixteenth century. Sawankhalok potters, with a better-quality clay, made a variety of small delicate vessels and covered pots. Bisque and glazed, Sawankhalok ware had underglaze iron-black decoration and a glaze of brown, pearly white monochrome, or green celadon.