Neolithic Thai Marble Bangle

Ban Chiang or Ban Non Wat Culture, Neolithic period, c. 2200 BC – 200 BC, Northeastern Thailand, Southeast Asia

A compelling and exceptionally rare white stone bangle, most likely fashioned from marble, characterised by its graceful taper toward the outer rim and a raised collar encircling the central perforation. The form is carefully proportioned and technically refined, demonstrating the advanced lapidary skills achieved by Neolithic communities in Southeast Asia.

The exact purpose of such bangles remains open to scholarly interpretation. Stone bracelets of this type appear across a broad range of Asian cultures and reflect a high degree of symbolic abstraction during the Neolithic period (4th–1st millennium BC). Archaeological and comparative evidence suggests that these objects carried ritual meaning while also functioning as personal adornments and, on occasion, as items of exchange or markers of prestige.

Although many examples in museum collections lack precise archaeological provenance, a sufficient number have been recovered from controlled excavations in China, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia to confirm their cultural importance. These bangles were clearly valued possessions, commonly placed on the arms of the deceased in burial contexts and almost certainly worn during ceremonial or ritual occasions in life.

Hardstone bracelets with drilled centres were already being produced in North and Central China during the Late Neolithic period (c. 3500–2500 BC). It is widely believed that the associated technologies and stylistic concepts gradually spread southward with the expansion of Austro-Asiatic–speaking populations, reaching Southeast Asia by the late third millennium BC. Numerous production sites for stone bracelets have been identified in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. Among the best-documented is the late second-millennium BC jade bracelet workshop at Trang Kenh, near Hai Phong in northern Vietnam (Nguyen Kim Dung, forthcoming). Excavations at the site reveal that bracelet centres were drilled from both sides using rotating jigs and jasper gouges, before the central core was carefully extracted.

This rare marble bangle serves as a compelling testament to Neolithic technological expertise, long-distance cultural exchange, and the ritual and social importance of personal ornamentation in early Southeast Asian societies.

Good condition. Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age, nicks and chip. Heavy encrusted earthen deposits throughout with multiple rootmarks. Size approx. 11,1cm x 11,0cm x 1,7cm

Provenance: Swedish private collection

For a similar examples see: 

Disc bracelet, Sainsbury Centre, Accession Number: 1032                                                   (https://sainsburycentre.ac.uk/art-and-objects/1032-disc-bracelet/)

Three Brownish Ivory-Colored Opaque Stone Flanged Bracelets, Christie’s, The Collection of Robert H. Ellsworth Part III, Lot 529, Closed: 19 Mar 2015 (https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5876586)

References and further reading:

Early Thailand - From Prehistory to Sukhothai, Charles Higham & Rachanee Thosarat, River Books, 2012