Dhanabadee is the brand behind the iconic chicken bowl, a common sight throughout the home kitchens and noodle shops of Thailand.
Though the city leaders promote this as the symbol of Lampang, for most Thais the red rooster logo would make them immediately think of either breakfast or lunch, but definitely of noodle soup.
The museum is co-located with the original factory in Lampang, established in 1956 by the Dhanabadeesakul family and other migrants from southern China. Often imitated, this is the first chicken-bowl ceramics factory in Lampang.
The patriarch of the Dhanabadeesakul family, Simyu Sae-Chin, migrated from Guangdong to Thailand. He first settled as a ceramics craftsman in Bangkok, before moving to Chiang Mai, and finally to Lampang.
The Lampang factory is situated near a source of high-quality Kaolin (‘china clay’), and unites porcelain technology and the skilled hand-painting of traditional designs both drawing strongly on the family’s roots in China.
As foreshadowed by the museum, the factory itself is a mix of the old and the new. Besides the hand-painting station and 2 of the original dragon kilns are modern kilns and palettes of home-wares destined for export.
Glance upwards at the glazing station and you can see a wooden house on stilts – the original Dhanabadeesakul family home.
Today, Dhanabadee Ceramic is a successful exporter to all continents, and owns multiple international brands. Of course, for visitors it is really the chicken bowls that they want to see!
