Sukhothai Glazed Ceramic Roof Tile in the Form of a Naga Dragon

Thailand, Circa 14th to 15th Century AD.

This is a Sukhothai-period architectural ornament known as a naga finial, which was used to decorate temple and shrine roofs in Thailand. Its key iconographic elements are an elongated serpent form body with an upward-curving profile, a stylized dragon-like head with prominent fangs and open mouth, decorative scaled patterns along the body.   The naga finial incorporates several layers of religious and cosmological symbolism:
The upward-curving form represents the cosmic river flowing from Mount Meru.  The serpentine shape symbolizes the rainbow bridge between earth and heaven.  The multiple decorative tiers reflect the levels of Buddhist cosmology.  The open mouth and fangs serve an apotropaic (protective) function as a temple guardian.  

These finials played specific roles in Thai temple architecture:
They were placed at the peaks and corners of temple roofs as nak sadung (roof finials).
The undulating form marked buildings of high status, especially royal and sacred structures.  They formed part of a larger symbolic system representing the flow of divine power from heaven to earth.  Multiple finials would be used on tiered roofs, with identical pieces at each level.  The naga finial thus represents a sophisticated fusion of Hindu-Buddhist cosmology with indigenous Southeast Asian serpent worship traditions, embodying both protective and transcendent spiritual qualities in Thai sacred architecture.

The piece demonstrates the sophisticated ceramic production techniques of the Sukhothai period, when Thailand's ceramic arts reached their golden age and were widely traded throughout Asia

Size 16"H x 9"D x 4"W

Provenance:  NY collection Susan Gullia, a travel consultant and fundraiser who died in 2022 at the age of 89,  She created some of the very first educational, luxury tours specifically designed for art collectors and museum supporters. In 1964 Gullia developed the inaugural museum-sponsored “study tour” for the Brooklyn Museum, on which museum directors took donors to Egypt, giving them access to museums, temples and private collections not open to the public. It was a novel idea at the time, and a huge success. These trips, which served as fundraisers for the museum, would become Gullia’s hallmark. From the mid-60’s onward she specialized in creating innovative tours to what were then less traveled places, including India, Peru, Japan, Thailand, Cuba and China, for museums and cultural institutions all over the world. She also specialized in museum sponsored tours of major European and US cities. Gullia used her connections with art historians, curators and museum directors to build unique experiences, with experts serving as guides, sharing knowledge about art and architecture with donors and collectors.

Gullia was also a philanthropist and supported a huge array of organizations, including the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, and the New York City Ballet, as well as many humane organizations. She served as a docent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ms. Gullia, also a dedicated conservationist, had no immediate family, and left her Amagansett home to the Peconic Land trust.