| Abstract: |
The story of the kendi in Southeast Asia and the archipelago provides a fascinating illustration of the huge pottery export trade from China, Annam and Siam into this region. Although it has many variants, the kendi is a drinking vessel whose essential components are a globular body, a neck by which the vesel is both filled and grasped, and a spout at the side for drinking. The Malay work <i>kendi</i> or <i>kundi</i> is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit <i>kundika</i>, a water-pot. The kundika appears in Hindu iconography as one of the attributes of Brahma and of his sakti Brahmani, and of Sarasvati, the Goddess of Learning, and in Buddhism as an attribute of Avalokitesvara. The kundika was also carried by Buddhist pilgrims. However, there is a clear difference between the kundika and the kendi described in this paper. The kundika has an ovid body, long, thin neck tipped with a tubular mouthpiece, and a cup-shaped spout at the side for filling. Examples in bronze and earthenware are shown in Figures 1 and 2
the former is an eighth century vessel excavated near Chandi Kalasan in Central Java, the latter an earthenware version of the ninth century from Chandi Prambanan, near by. The kundika is represented in several variants on the reliefs of the second gallery and Borobudur (eighth century), and is clearly of Indian origin.
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