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Unknown Maker, Thai

Manuscript and Covers

Maker

Unknown Maker, Thai

Culture

Thai

Title

Manuscript and Covers

Year

1800s

Medium

  • Palm leaves and silk cord

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Palm leaves and silk cord

Materials

ink

Supports

  • palm leaf

Geography

Origin: Southeast Asia

Dimensions

6.4 x 57.5 x 10.8 cm (2 1/2 x 22 5/8 x 4 1/4 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich

Object Number

33.247

Type

  • Books

Exhibition History

Text, Paratext, and Images
Sep 01, 2020 – Jul 24, 2021

Label copy

This manuscript, written in Pali, a language used for sacred Buddhist sutras, is lettered in Khmer, a script widely used in Southeast Asia. Palm leaves have long served as a writing medium in Southeast and South Central Asia. This example from the 1800s likely references more ancient manuscripts in its material and form.

Because palm leaves are long and narrow, they inform the orientation and appearance of the text written on them. Words are incised with an iron stylus, and in order not to break the fiber, each letter is rounded to avoid sharp and abrupt turnings. The surface is then treated with lacquer sap or oil to make the text more legible as the liquid sinks into the incisions.

Sumptuous Expression
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Gift of Southeast Asian Art
Jun 25, 2004 – Oct 10, 2004

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Thai
Manuscript and Covers, 1800s
Palm leaves and silk cord
6.4 x 57.5 x 10.8 cm (2 1/2 x 22 5/8 x 4 1/4 inches)
Gift of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich 33.247

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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