Where To Buy Urn For Burial

[junkofdavid2]

Hi,

Does anyone know where to buy urns to store ashes of the dead?

[AmeriThai]

There are lots of styles available in Thailand. In my opinion, benjarong porcelain is some of the best and most attractive. There are a good number of stalls at the Chatuchak Weekend Market that specialize in benjarong.

You can find some low quality ones that have a dull goldish colered trim. I'd recommend looking for those with a very high gold shine because it uses gold for that color, not just a dull paint. Prices vary depending on the size and how intricate the design is, but generally they're quite affordable.

[junkofdavid2]

Thanks!

Isn't Chatuchak is known to be quite expensive for foreigners?

Anyone know where else it can be bought at "Thai" prices, and possibly "wholesale"?

Also, anyone know the Thai word for "burial urn"?

Cheers!

Edited April 12, 2007 by junkofdavid2

[November Rain]

How big an urn do you mean? A large one or a small one where a selection of ashes/bones are kept (in the house of the family) while the rest are scattered on the sea etc? I have a small one with my BF's ashes & they can be bought in any Thai Buddhist or monk supply shop. Or even in Tescos (!) The rest of my BF's ashes wrere scattered at sea.

[junkofdavid2]

hi!

definitely not one big enough to fit bones.

The small kind which fits ashes will do. (Size of a shoe box or smaller).

Where in Bangkok do you find these monk supply shops? Inside temples? If so, which ones?

(Priest supply shops aren't found in just any Catholic Church...)

Thanks!

[November Rain]

OK, the ones I'm talking about are about 10" to 12" tall & fairly narrow, shaped like a vase with a tall spired lid (12" is the total height including lid). They are usually in a gold or silver coloured metal. You would never fit all the ashes in there, they're just used for some of the ashes & the rest are distributed elsewhere.

As I said, I've seen them in my local Tescos for about 300 bt, next to the alms, buckets & things for monks.

I don't know about your town, but here the "monks' shops", I don't know the Thai for them, are in every street of the town centre. You usually see flower garlands & yellow buckets filled with things for the monks (dried food, soap powder, drinks) outside. If you go in you find the urns, candle holders, incense stick holders & lots of other things like that.

Edit - just reread & see you are in BKK. I would imagine you would find the shops in Thai areas, not tourist areas. Probably some Wats as well, but I'm not familiar with BKK, so I'm afraid I'm not sure.

Edited April 12, 2007 by November Rain

[Crossy]

I can add little except to wonder why the OP needs cremation urns 'wholesale'???

[AmeriThai]

Thanks!

Isn't Chatuchak is known to be quite expensive for foreigners?

Anyone know where else it can be bought at "Thai" prices, and possibly "wholesale"?

Also, anyone know the Thai word for "burial urn"?

Cheers!

Benjarong at the Weekend market is a lot cheaper than buying the same things at specialty or gift shops.

J & J has a stall at the Weekend market, but they produce their wares out in the Lat Phrao area, I think on Lat Phrao Road. They have a good reputation for producig high quality benjarong ware. The artisans they employ do an excellent job. In fact, many of the other benjarong vendors at te Weekend market are familiar with them and acknowledge J & J's quality. They are very fair pricewise, meaning whether your Thai or a foreigner, you'll pay about the same price for their merchandise.

The "monk shops" are places that sell garlands, floral arrangements, saffron robes, monk fans, and other supplies often purchased to give as gifts to monks. Some are fund raisers for various wats, altough I'm not certain all of them are. While you can buy from the monk shops, the drawback is that the variety of selections are going to be limited to whatever they have in stock, which frankly isn't much. And you're not likely to be able to bargain for better rates at monk shops.

Since you put the word "wholesale" in quote marks, I'm not sure if you mean bargaining for a lower price for one or two items, or if you mean buying on a commercial scale. If you mean you're interested in quantities, then you should go to the source, and J & J's is a good source, and there are others around the country. There are some good factories located at Chiang Mai and Sukhothat as well. Best to shop around to find the quality and prices you want. Most of the better sources will ship internationally.

We spent years buying small quantities (under 100 pieces) of benjarong ware at a time around Thailand every year. We don't any more. I only mention J & J's because we've bought almost exclusively from them over the years, and we're been very pleased at their high quality, their huge selection, and their reasonable rates. The Weekend market is not their primary source for sales. They sell all over the country and the world. As an extreme contrast in pricie differences, they have porcelain elephants in a style they call "Royal White" (white with gold trim), about 5 or 6 inches in helght, that sold for around 150 baht. The exact same product sold at the Don Meung International Airport's gift shops for around 2900 baht. Upscale gift shops around BKK had similar prices as well. That's been a few years ago, so I'd guess prices are bound to be higher these days.

You can find benjarong style pottery at other small weekend markets, such as in Ayuttaya, etc. The problem is that such products are almost always going to be "seconds" which have flaws making them unsuitable for commercial sale, or even lower quality which are practice pieces made by students beginning to learn the craft.

Believe me, I've spent a lot of years buying benjarong and other porcelain products for commercial purposes. To me, price, variety and quality are important.

[junkofdavid2]

Thanks so much guys!

Amerithai and November, very helpful.

To crossy... well, i'm thinking of giving them as gifts this christmas to all my Asian friends (about 100 of them).

Cheer

Edited April 13, 2007 by junkofdavid2