Ban Bu Bronze Bowls

Ban Bu was a village of bronze workers settled here after the fall of Ayutthaya, and it made khan long hin - bronze bowls, hammered from an alloy of copper and tin, heated, beaten into shape over many hours, then ground and polished on a stone until the surface takes a mirror finish and the bowl rings when struck. It was a whole village trade. It is now one family, the Saeng-ngoen family, working in a single open-fronted workshop in the lane, the last practitioners of the method in Thailand; everything else on the market is spun or cast. The process is visible from the street - the hammering, the annealing over charcoal, the polishing - and the bowls are sold on site at prices reflecting the days of work in each one. There is no ticket, no display and no tourism apparatus; it is a workshop that lets people watch. The craft has no clear successor generation.

The main sights

• The hammering - bowls beaten into shape by hand over charcoal.
• The polishing - the stone grinding that produces the mirror finish and the ring.
• The last workshop - one family continuing a village trade.
• The bowls - sold on site, priced by the labour in them.

When to go

November to February. Weekday working hours - the family works a normal day and there is nothing to see outside it. An hour covers a visit.

Good to know

A working family workshop, not an attraction - they are making bowls, not performing. Ask before photographing. Nothing is set up for visitors and there is no interpretation. Bowls are expensive because of the labour, which is the point.

Nearby

Wat Suwannaram is close; the river and Thonburi's canals are alongside.