Abstract

A smartphone and a commercial mobile application named ‘Colorimeter’ are combined for the colour classification of fine-paste ware used in Hindu-Buddhist rituals. With high L* values in the CIE colour space, the potsherds from 3 Buddhist temples as well as an ancient production site in southern Thailand are consistent with the white fine-paste ware. By contrast, the artefacts from an archaeological in north Sumatra of Indonesia are characterized by much lower L* and b*. Classified as the red fine-paste ware, the artefacts from Myanmar and India exhibit uniquely high a* values at their outer layer. The RGB space as well as chroma and hue angle can complement the CIE space in describing colours of religious artefacts but they are only effective in the case of distinct colours.