The fire box of the dragon kiln resembles a tombMeasuring 43 metres long, 2.2 metres high and 2.5 metres wide, the longest dragon kiln in Singapore was built in 1944. Dragon kilns can be as long as 100 metres.
The firing ovenThow Kwang Dragon Kiln (龙窑) has a brick-built kiln constructed on a hill side with the fire box in front and side-stoking holes at the sides. During firing, the kiln resembles a recumbent dragon with fire spewing from its nostrils (fire box). The dragon kiln technology was brought to Singapore by immigrant Chinese artisans in the early 1900s.
Inside the dragon kilnIn the old days, Thow Kwang Dragon Kiln was fired every fortnightly to meet the demand for latex cups needed by the rubber plantations in the Jalan Bahar area. Pipes and household items like water containers, flower pots and crockery were also fired in the kiln.
One needs to stoop when entering and leaving the dragon kiln
When demand for rubber declined, the pottery industry in Singapore suffered a set back. The pottery industry was revived briefly when flower pots became very saleable in the early 1970s. But competition with the lower priced Malaysian industry resulted in the closure of Thow Kwang Dragon Kiln and other kilns in different parts of Singapore.
Pottery-making classes are available
There are classes in pottery and other ceramic techniques conducted by resident artists at Thow Kwang Dragon Kiln, which also provide facilities for both hobby and professional potters and ceramicists. Various types of clay, glazes and other ceramic materials, and pottery equipment are available for purchase.
Thow Kwang Dragon Kiln
85 Lorong Tawas (off Jalan Bahar)
Singapore 639823
Tel : 6265 5808 / 6268 6121
http://thowkwangclayartists.
Wordless Wednesday
What an amazing kiln. I have never seen one so large. The science behind these things fascinates me.
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool. I have never seen one before. Happy WW
ReplyDeleteVery cool. It look amazing. Have you been there?
ReplyDeleteI have never even heard about dragon kilns before! Fascinating!
ReplyDeleteWhat a very interesting looking place. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great history lesson on the dragon kiln. Awesome. Have a wonderful WW. :)
ReplyDeleteYou always have interest post :D
ReplyDeleteMine in here Thanks
Thanks for sharing in here....
ReplyDeleteWill you visit my WW : My son on costume? Thanks.
Very cool, I'd never heard of a Dragon Kiln before. Thanks for sharing! :-)
ReplyDeleteWow, a walk-in kiln. Who knew?! Very cool.
ReplyDeleteThis an amazing WW!! it's truly fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI need your help!! pls come on over :)
Wah.
ReplyDeletewow it is huge have you made or bought things from their how fun to make it
ReplyDeleteWow what an enormous kiln. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteOh how beautiful! What an amazing place to visit.
ReplyDeletei've never heard of a dragon kiln before!! now i know. i think sarawak has one at the sarawak cultural village.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I always leave your WW's in a more enlightened state than when I arrived. Very funky!
ReplyDeleteWow that's pretty interesting. I've never seen one.
ReplyDeleteHappy WW!
that's great that Singapore has decided to rescue such a site!
ReplyDeleteI used to be a potter before I messed up my wrists. I would love to go there and see that.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! That looks like a great place of exploration.
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool. Great pics. Happy WW and thanks for stopping by:)
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Happy WW!
ReplyDeleteMy post: "Dressed to kill" (It'll be up in about 2 hours)
WOW! That is fascinating!!!
ReplyDeleteWow~ I didn't even know it exist in Singapore :|
ReplyDeleteLearned something new today :)
Huge! And very cool!
ReplyDeleteit looks creepy but very interesting :)
ReplyDeletepretty interesting ancient piece.
ReplyDeleteis it cool there?
c",) Morning Sniffles
Interesting. I have never heard about it before. Learned something again. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteVERB
Makimeji
Fascinating place. :-) Happy WW.
ReplyDeletethat's one very large kiln. they could bake a - well a very large dragon in there. ;)
ReplyDeletehappy ww. ☺
I love Singapore. I thought this post was also interesting and it is indeed an amazing kiln.
ReplyDeleteHi ECL, that would be a nice place to visit. Happy WW!
ReplyDeleteHow about on horseback? At a trot might not even need a ...
..
Back to thank you for your valuable help!!!
ReplyDelete::wink::
This is amazing! I had no idea something like that existed! Thx for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! I've never seen a dragon kiln.
ReplyDeleteHappy WW!
Join me here if you can!
Just Some Thoughts
Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteHappy WW.
What an interesting photo!
ReplyDeleteMy WW entry is up too!
Why is there so many hidden places I don't know about? .....call myself Singaporean somemore...hiiiya!!!!
ReplyDeleteI thin I am very suah-ku... Never know there's a place like this in S'pore. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteyour entries are always so informative. you sure are doing a good job in promoting singapore! :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting, ECL! Singapore has this kind of place?
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool and great info at that.
ReplyDeleteWow! Never knew such thing existed! Thanks for sharing the info ECL. Always learn a lot from your post. (^_^)
ReplyDeleteThat is amazing. And the fact that it is in Singapore.
ReplyDeleteI love pottery and took pottery class once. Love the feel of wet clay. And the ugly mug I made from scratch feels very special!
I'll say it looks like a tomb! You'd never get me in it, that's for sure.
ReplyDeletewhen i first saw the shots, i thought its a wine cellar
ReplyDeleteThis was so neat to see! Thank you for sharing and explaining the Dragon Kiln! Happy WW!
ReplyDeleteWow! That's really interesting! Great pictures, too! Thanks so much for sharing! Enjoy your day!
ReplyDeleteOOPS! I had another bloggers link on my clipboard and pasted it in my comment! Check them out and then come visit me! lol
ReplyDeleteThis is very strange place but indeed beautiful! Happy WW!
ReplyDeleteHe's thinking ahead
Missing this house
Thank you for sharing these pictures. I never knew this kind of stuff existed. It is amazing!
ReplyDeleteNeat! Thanks for sharing! Happy WW!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, both in form and function.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your trip with us!
No kidding?! We have a "kiln" in Singapore? It is not ... artificially made for tourism?
ReplyDeleteFascinating.
Never heard of a dragon kiln before. Fascinating. Wonder how you fire up something that big... wow... nice photos... and thanks for the interesting information.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness. I envy you that you get to travel about so many interesting places in Singapore.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, do you need someone to accompany you around to help you write about the lovely sights of Singapore?
Cool and very interesting Kiln!
ReplyDeleteThat is such a nice history of the kiln. Very interesting
ReplyDeletewow, that is huge! great pic!
ReplyDeletehave such interesting posts! This is amazing! "Dragon Kiln" even sounds so romantic!
ReplyDeleteVery cool!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a very interesting place to visit! I would really enjoy the pottery classes, especially in such an inspiring environment.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting and so informative too!!
ReplyDeletea safe place to hv "ahem"? kakaka..
ReplyDeletevery historical looking place! very terracotta! ;)
I've never seen one of those before. Thanks for the info and the awesome photos!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely place to be and thanks for taking us with. I remember I played with clay when I was you - before Porsgund Porcelain took over you know :lol:
ReplyDeleteImpressing in all senses
ReplyDeleteReally cool. This is all new to me:)
ReplyDeletefascinating!!! i tot it was one of the war-escape route hehehe
ReplyDeletethis looks very amazing!!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea kilns could be so large! The dragon kilns have a very interesting history.
ReplyDeleteHope you can stop by my WW post for tea. :)
thats cool!
ReplyDeleteHappy WW!
Very interesting post about this huge kiln. Pottery is a great craft that's very admirable.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't able to join regular memes last week but if you have time, I'd like to share photos of our visit to Ocean Adventure. Take care.
Nice write up on this. My family and I were there about 3 months ago too, en route to visiting Hay's Diaries (you will realise by now how frequent we go to the goat farm, courtesy of Ethan!) The place was rather quiet but a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. Unfortunately, we don't have much space in our flat for the nice pots and ceramic pieces we saw!
ReplyDeletehi... but ur pics shows the kiln from Thow Kwang Pottery... not the Guan Huat Dragon Kiln... u sure you went to the right place?
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are taken from Thow Kwang Dragon Kiln not the one from Guan Huat. Check this link
ReplyDeletehttp://thowkwangclayartists.wordpress.com
Guys,
ReplyDeleteMy mistake. Sorry.
I have rectified the mistakes.
Thanks for the feedback. :P