Thai Art and Culture : Historic Manuscripts from Western Collections Book

In his lavishly illustrated new study, Henry Ginsburg describes a widerange of Thai manuscripts and other documents in European and North American collections, discussing each in its religious and historical context. The book extends and expands on the author's previous work Thai Manuscript Painting, which was an introductory survey of the main types of painting, based primarily on British Library material. Since then many superb illustrated manuscripts, a number of them with dated colophons, have come to light in Western collections. The new manuscripts alter our understanding of the subject, and this important new study includes dated examples from 1797 through the end of the nineteenth century, enabling us to accurately define the development of style.

This highly informative book contains an impressive compilation of maps, letters, photographs, and manuscripts that will make it a valuable reference tool for the Southeast Asia scholar, while its colorful illustrations and readable captions will appeal to a wider audience interested in Thai culture.

Author Bio: Henry Ginsburg is curator of Thai and Cambodian collections at the British Library.