Bulletin of the Geological Society of Malaysia, Volume 73, May 2022, pp. 53 - 65 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7186/bgsm73202205 0126-6187; 2637-109X / Published by the Geological Society of Malaysia. © 2022 by the Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) License 4.0. Tracing the source and origin of earthenware stove in Kelantan State Museum by means of geochemical and mineralogical methods Suresh Narayanen * , Nasha Rodziadi Khaw, Ahmad Fadly Jusoh, Ahmad Syahir Zulkipli Centre for Global Archaeological Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia *Corresponding author email address: sureshnarayanen@usm.my Abstract: This study applies geochemical and mineralogical methods to determine the source and origin of the raw materials used to manufacture the earthenware stove in Kelantan State Museum, Kota Bharu. The stove is claimed to be the most unique pottery made in Kelantan but details regarding its place of manufacture and technology are missing due to the poor recording and cataloguing system used by the museum in the past. Three analytical methods employed in this study were X-Ray Difraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Thermogravimetric (TGA) analyses. The results of the analyses were compared with the compositional data of raw clay samples obtained from Sungai Galas and Tumpat, two well-known traditional pottery manufacturing localities in Kelantan. In addition, clay samples from Ulu Kelantan were also included in this study to check whether the stove has any similarity with the chemical contents of prehistoric pottery found in the Nenggeri Valley of Kelantan. The results of the analyses showed that the composition of the earthenware stove has closer similarity with the clay samples extracted from Sungai Galas compared to the samples from Tumpat and Ulu Kelantan. Major minerals found between the earthenware stove and clay from Sungai Galas are quartz, albite, muscovite, microcline and cordierite. Furthermore, Thermogravimetric analysis confrmed that the stove was fred below 600 °C, corresponding to the traditional bonfre-fring technique employed by the Mambong potters in Sungai Galas. On the basis of geochemical and mineralogical results, this study concludes that the earthenware stove in the Kelantan State Museum is a product of Kampung Mambong made of clay sourced from Sungai Galas and fred at low temperatures between 400 – 600 °C, probably using the open-fring technique. Keywords: XRD, XRF, TGA, earthenware stove, Kelantan INTRODUCTION The Kelantan State Museum in Kota Bharu, Kelantan preserves a number of important antiquities such as earthenware pots, Chinese ceramics and jars, musical instruments, baskets as well as bronze and iron objects in the form of knives, sickles and swords. One of the signifcant collections in this museum is the pottery assemblage consisting of traditional Malay pots, e.g. water vessels, rice containers, incense burner, cooking and steaming pots. Also observed in this museum were considerable number of prehistoric potteries particularly from the archaeological site of Gua Cha in the Nenggeri Valley of Kelantan. Based on previous studies by Suresh (2017, 2019), the museum preserves a unique type of pottery in the form of earthenware stove (Figure 1). Despite its shape and surface design, the stove shares some resemblances to Lapohan made by the Bajau Darat potters in Semporna, Sabah (Chia, 2003 & 2016; Suresh, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014b, 2017, 2019; Suresh & Chia, 2009, 2010; Chia & Suresh, 2017). Even though the stove has been mentioned a while ago, until recently its origin had not yet been ascertained due to the poor recording and cataloguing system used by the museum in the past. Thus, important questions regarding who, when, where and how the pottery stove was made and used are unanswered. According to the museum’s old record, two stoves in diferent sizes (large and small) were bought from a man named Yaacob Haji Osman in 1983. Other details about the stoves and its seller are unavailable. Recent study by Suresh (2019) proposed that the stove might be a product of Kampung Mambong, a Malay pottery-making centre in Kuala Krai, based on the uniformity in surface design. The lack of analytical study, however, caused the origin of the stove to have remained unknown. Figure 1: Large-sized earthenware stove specimen at Kelantan State Museum, Kota Bharu.