Catalogue New 12-13_Layout 1

RiverBooks

2012-3

River Books396 Maharaj Road, Tatien, Bangkok 10200

T: (66 2) 622-1900, 224-6686

F: (66 2) 225-3861

E: [email protected]

www.riverbooksbk.com

London office

3 Denbigh Road, London W11 2SJ

T: 44 20 7229 6765



Distribution: Europe and RoW excluding HK and Southeast Asia

Antique Collectors’ Club

T: +44 (0)1394 389977 F: +44 (0) 1394 389999

www.antique-acc.com

North America:


T: +1 413 529 0861 F: +1 845 297 0068

www.antique-acc.com

Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Brunei:

APD Singapore Pte Ltd

T: +65 6749 3551 F: +65 6749 3552


River Books is one of the foremost publishers of books on theart, architecture, history and early culture of mainland Southeast

Asia, together with an important series of books on textiles.

Thai language books cover aspects of Thai history and a major bi-lingual English-Thai dictionary has been

published with Oxford University Press.

Working with acknowledged experts in each field, River Books combines excellent

photography, design and production values.

Significant books published this year include �arly Thailand, The Roots of Thai Art, The Trouser People,

Siamese �oins,The House of the Ra�a and Thai Magic Tattoos.

New e-books will include Thailand#s Political History and The Trouser People. We are also publishing the much-awaited

novel, A Woman of Angkor by John Burgess.

November will see the publication of �ac"uerware �ourneys,which will be the most significant history on

this subject for many decades.

Full details available in this catalogue and on our website:www.riverbooksbk.com

CONTENTSNew Titles

4 The Roots of Thai Art6 Siamese Coins – From Funan to the Fifth Reign8 The House of the Raja – Splendor and Desolation

in the Deep South of Thailand10 Thai Magic Tattoos – The Art and Influence of Sak Yant11 Backstage Mandalay12 A Woman of Angkor

Stories in Stone – The Sdok Kok Thom Inscription & the Enigma of Khmer History

13 The Trouser People – Burma in the Shadows of Empire 14 Early Thailand – From Prehistory to Sukhothai15 Angkor – History & Temples16 Lacquerware Journeys – The Untold Story

of Burmese Lacquer18 The Grand Palace and Rattanakosin Island19 Royal Hue – Heritage of the Nguyen Dynasty

of Vietnam20 The Nagas – Hill People of Northern India21 Restless Ribeiro – An Indian Artist in Britain22 Ancient Vietnam – History, Art and Archaeology23 Thai Taxi Talismans – Bangkok from the passenger seat

Forthcoming 201326 Banteay Chhmar – Uncovering the last great

forest temple of Ancient Cambodia27 Early Buddhist Art in Northeast Thailand

and Central Laos – 7th-12th CenturiesWat Bo – The Shadow of the Ramayana

28 Tai Magic – Art of the Supernatural in the Shan States and Lan Na

29 Through the Labyrinth – The Shan Princes in Burma30 Very Bangkok31 Thai Furniture

Bencharong – Enamelled Porcelain for Siamese Kings and Courtiers

BACKLIST TITLES34 Temples of Cambodia – The Heart of Angkor35 Abhaya – Burma’s fearlessness36 Tea Horse Road – China‘s ancient trade road to Tibet37 China - Through The Lens of John Thomsom 1868-187238 Southeast Asian Historiography Unravelling the

Myths – Essays in honour of Barend Jan TerwielSacred Sites of Burma – Myth and Folklore in an Evolving Spiritual realm

39 50 Years of Archaeology in Southeast Asia –Essays in Honour of Ian GloverThailand’s Political History – From the 13th Century to Modern Times

40 Rawfully Good – ‘Living’ Flavours of Southeast AsiaRirkrit Tiravanija – Cook Book

41 Thai Folk Wisdom – Contemporary Takes on Traditional Proverbs

42 Ancient Sukhothai – Thailand’s Cultural HeritagePast Lives of The Buddha –Wat Si Chum – Art, Architecture and InscriptionsOrigins of Thai Art

43 Ayutthaya – Venice of the EastSiam and the VaticanSiam and the League of Nations –Modernisation, Sovereignty and Multilateral Diplomacy, 1920-1940

44 Royal Siamese Maps –War and Trade in Nineteenth Century ThailandSiam in Trade and War: Royal Maps of the 19th CenturyThe Ming Gap and Shipwreck Ceramics in Southeast Asia – Towards a Chronology of Thai Trade Ware

45 The Yao – The Mien and Mun Yao in China, Vietnam, Laos and ThailandCaves of Northern Thailand

Expedition Naga – Diaries from the Hills in Northeast India 1921-1937 and 2002-2006

46 Very Thai – Everyday Popular CultureMesmerization – The Spells that Control Us – Why we are losing our minds to pop-culture

47 Thai Mother-of-Pearl InlayThai Puppets & Khon MasksBangkok Found – Reflections on the City

48 Buddhist Art – An Historical and Cultural JourneyKhmer Ceramics – Beauty and Meaning

49 Bayon – New perspectivesThe Khmer EmpireTonle Sap

50 Images of The GodsBuddhist Painting in CambodiaPreah Bot – Buddhist painted scrolls in Cambodia

51 Cambodian Dance – Celebration of the GodsRuins of AngkorAncient Luang Prabang

52 The Moon Princess – Memories of the Shan StatesEarly Landscapes of Myanmar

53 Traditional Textiles of Cambodia –Cultural Threads and Material Heritage Pictorial Cambodian TextilesThai TextilesSilken Threads Lacquer Thrones – Lan Na Court Textiles

54 The Secrets of Southeast Asian Textiles –Myth, Status and the SupernaturalThrough The Thread of Time – Southeast Asian TextilesThe Shan – Culture, Art and CraftsMantles of Merit – Chin Textiles from Myanmar, India and Bangladesh

55 Chambers : English-Thai PhrasebookOxford-River Books English-Thai DictionaryPocket Oxford-River Books English-Thai Dictionary

TH� R��T �� TH�� RT

416 pages, 280 x 215 mmHardback, 540 colour illustrationswith 32 maps and plansISBN 978 616 7339 11 5 (English)ISBN 978 974 9863 68 3 (Thai)

Piriya KrairikshTranslated by Narisa Chakrabongse

The genius of the Mon and Khmer peoples,who inhabited what is present day Thailandfrom the 4th to the 13th centuries, mani-fested itself in the absorption of influencesfrom India and China into a distinctive localsacred art with quite exceptional aestheticqualities. Thailand’s pre-eminent art historianPiriya Krairiksh retraces these multiple inter-actions in the early and medieval period so asto reveal the roots of the unique culturalidentity we know as Thai.

With more than 540 illustrations andwith most icons dated to within a fifty-yearperiod, this book establishes itself as an incomparable visual record. The descriptionof this splendid range of early pre-Thai creations is rendered in a powerful new language of sacred art which expresses thedepths of philosophy and evolving beliefs ofthe two major religions, Buddhism and Brahmanism, that underpin Thai society and culture today. The surviving works show that the people who lived in these ancient sites combined their wealth and most advanced technology to bring the godsin palpable form into their midst so as to ensure their own protection and prosperity in this world and the next.

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This is the first ever book in English about Thai coins and the several types of money used by the various ethnic cultures that existed in this area.

It covers the time period from the earliest types of money, both in the form of coins and in other forms such as shells and various types of ingots used in what is now Thailand. It also includes the introduction of the baht currency system, a system based on divisions of eight (the octuple system), both in the form of pot duang and flat coins and the beginnings of the present day decimal coinage. It describes the development of Thai money through a continuous economic-historical review with excerpts from a variety of sources, including the Sukhothai inscriptions, the royal chronicles of Ayutthaya, the records of individual Dutch, French and Portuguese travellers and unpublished documents from the Royal Archives.

A unique feature of this publication and the enclosed DVD are high resolution photographs of over 1,000 specimens of the coins and other forms of money including photographs from the National Museum and leading private collections, which have circulated in Siam and its tributary states up to theFifth Reign.

Another unique feature is an extensive study of the metallic composition of most specimens conducted either by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (ED-XRF) tests and/or Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) tests to determine the exact chemical composition of the coins and other forms of money, as well as weight analyses of the coins.

Extensive study was also made of contemporary and modern counterfeit coins as well as ‘fantasies’ including comparison photos of genuine and counterfeit coins.

Included are a selection of Thai documents from Rama IV’s reign dealing with the introduction ofnew currency, counterfeits and money reforms, His Majesty’s correspondence in English with Queen Victoria, and the letter wherein Rama V opened his bank account in Thailand but in Mexican Dollars.

272 pages, 280 x 215 mmHardback with slip caseWith 2.103 colour illustrations Over 1,000 more images on DVDISBN 978 974 9863 54 1

SIAMESE COINSFrom Funan to the Fifth Reign

Ronachai KrisadaolarnVasilijs Mihailovs

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160 pages, 310 x 310 mm, Hb, 100 black and white photographsISBN 978 616 7339 17 7

THE HOUSE OF THE RAJASplendour and Desolation in the Deep South of Thailand

Xavier Comas

The House of the RajaCurious to unfurl mythologies and truths attached to restive Thailand’s DeepSouth, the Spanish photographer Xavier Comas spent several months in a regionthat was once part of the ancient Malay Sultanate of Patani. This Kingdomemerged during the 16th and 17th Centuries as a wealthy and cosmopolitan gate-way between the East and West frequented by Asians, Persians, Arabs and Euro-peans, under the rule of four Queens who were named after the colours of therainbow. Defeated after an epic war with Siam in 1786, Patani lost its sovereigntyand became upon the Anglo-Siam treaty of 1909 an integral part of present-dayThailand. Nowadays it is a place that is readily identified with the ongoing conflictbetween the Thai government and the Muslim separatists.

Inspired by his personal experience living in a dilapidated Palace, that was oncethe magnificent residence of the last Malay Raja who paid tribute to Siam, Comasbrings a myth to life and looks with his lens behind the clouded veil of conflict re-vealing a dimension of timeless spirituality. In an atmosphere pervaded with digni-fied solitude under a beautiful shroud of shadow and light, Comas’s series plungeinto a world of hauntings, curses and mystic powers. The author’ story offers an un-usual and intimate portrait of geographic, cultural, and ancestral legacy that delvesinto memory and revisits the ghost of the past.

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The book, structured in three large chapters and narrated in first person, combinesthe visual poetry of photography and a text where fiction and non-fiction overlap,presenting the ordinary and mundane as extraordinary and fantastic, using the genreof magical realism.

Xavier Comas (Barcelona, 1970)Xavier Comas, a fine arts graduate of the University of Barcelona, is a Bangkok-based Spanish artist. His work has been published and exhibited in Europe and Asia. The Singapore Art Museum exhibited his installation ‘Pasajero’ as part ofTransportAsian 2009 and it acquired his ‘Jiutamai’ series as Museum collection.Comas’ photographic and written work have been published by prominent publica-tions such as the Spanish La Vanguardia Sunday’s Newspaper edition, the Japaneseart Magazine Quotation, NZZ Newspaper in Switzerland, Courrier International inFrance and TIME magazine. He is also contributor to the Asia Literary Review. His project ‘Tokyo up, down’, a random photographic exploration in elevators, was exhibited at Noorderlicht Photofestival 2011 and by the Museum of EstonianArchitecture in Tallinn, Estonia. ‘The House of the Raja’, exhibited in 2010 by H gallery in Bangkok and recently in Barcelona, will be his first photographic andliterary piece to be published as book.

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Isabel Azevedo DrouyerPhotography Rene Drouyer

144 pages, 280 x 215 mm67 colour illustrations 68 b/w illustrations, 25 drawingsISBN 978 616 7339 21 4

THAI MAGIC TATTOOSThe Art and Influence of Sak Yant

During the last twenty years, tattooing has experienced a veritable renaissance in modern societies. For hundreds of years before this, however, Buddhist monks, using magical incanta-tions and spells, have been covering people’s bodies with indelible ink marks in the belief thatthey will attract luck, wealth, and blessings. Peoplebelieved that these tattoos provide protectionagainst evil spirits and may render the bearer invulnerable to stab wounds and even bullets.Known in Thailand as Sak Yant, these ancient tattoos are today experiencing a revival in popularity, both in their own country and beyond.Fashion or social phenomenon, the demand formagical tattoos keeps on rising. Hollywood starsand Singaporean business men alike, flock to ThaiSak Yant Masters to have these powerful designsinked onto their bodies.

At the same time, these tattooists are regularly invited to practice their art abroad, thus increasingthe popularity of Sak Yant worldwide. Why dothese sacred tattoos provoke such passion? Whoare these men who practice Sak Yant, and who are those who get tattooed? Do these skin-inkedmarks really have magical power? These questionsraise the problem of the influence of beliefs,

rituals, tattoos, and other amulets on the mindand on the health of individuals. Formerly regarded as a kind of irrational activity, today scientific studies help to understand how these beliefs may influence a person’s life. Drawing oncontributions and research fields as diverse as anthropology, religion, history, medicine, and psychology, Thai Magic Tattoos - The Art and Influence of Sak Yant attempts to explain how tattoos can change the life of the bearer.

The book is based on extensive fieldwork studies, extending over a period of three years and conducted in Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos. Filled with their own medium-format photographs, field notes and in-depth interviewsof Masters and Sak Yant believers, the authors provide a unique window into the world of sacredtattoos and in doing so illustrate one of the lastliving examples of authentic traditional tattooing.

BACKSTAGE MANDALAY

Daniel Ehrlich

This book provides a glimpse behind the curtaininto the netherworld of the ancient Burmeseperforming arts. Backstage Mandalay reveals theprivate rituals of classical Burmese performers asthey prepare for all-night festivals in the streets ofUpper Burma.

Myanmar (Burma) exists in a timewarp. The country is eighty-seven percent practicingBuddhist, studded with monasteries, pagodas,dirt-track roads, oxcarts and elegant villages muchas they were when the West intruded little morethan a century ago. The country is still farmed bywater buffalo and its rituals remain true to theirold-Asia form.

This little-visited country is now increasinglyin the news. But tourism remains at very low levels

and many regions of the country are stictly offlimits. This book, in the form of a photo essaycaptures an insider’s view of a fragile and mysticalaspect of Burmese culture.

The curtain is drawn to reveal the back-stageof the Burmese theater; a world populated byanimist spirit media (nakadaws), monsters fromthe Ramayana Buddhist texts, princesses(minthami) and princes (mintha). We go behindthe scenes to see the preparations of theseperformers as they travel around the towns andcountryside between temporary bamboo stagesconstructed for all-night festivals.

With essays from Professor Ward Keeler and UOhn Maung, the book is a visual and informativetestament to Burmese performing arts.

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A Woman of Angkor

A Novel

Burgess has done something that I believe is unique in

modern writing: set a credible and seemingly authentic tale in

the courts and temples of ancient Angkor to stir the imagination and

excite our historical interest.

John le Carré

John Burgess

A WOMAN OF ANGKOR

John Burgess

264 pages210 x 142 mmPaperbackISBN 978 616 7339 25 2

"Pure and beautiful, she glows like the moon behindclouds."

The time is the twelfth century, the place, Cambo-dia, birthplace of the lost Angkor civilisation. In a village behind a towering stone temple lives ayoung woman named Sray. Her neighbors likenher to the heroine of a Hindu epic. But in fact her serenity is marred by a dangerous secret. Onerainy season afternoon she is called to a life ofprominence in the royal court. There her faith and loyalties are tested by attentions from thegreat king Suryavarman II. She struggles keep herdevotion is her husband Nol, palace confidanteand master of the silk parasols that were symbolsof the monarch's rank.

This lovingly crafted first novel by formerWashington Post correspondent John Burgess revives the rites and rhythms of the ancient culturethat built the temples of Angkor, then abandonedthem to the jungle. In telling her tale, Sray takesthe reader to a hilltop monastery, a concubinepavilion and across the seas to the throne room ofimperial China. She witnesses the construction ofthe largest of the temples, Angkor Wat, and offersan explanation for its greatest mystery – why itbroke with centuries of tradition to face west instead of east.

John Burgess is a former Washington Post foreign correspondent with long experience inSoutheast Asia.

STORIES IN STONE –The Sdok Kok Thom Inscription &the Enigma of Khmer History

198 pages, 210 x 142 mm68 b/w illustrationsISBN 978 616 7339 01 6

The founding of an empire, the settling of frontierlands, a king’s gifting of gold pitchers and black-eared stallions to a Brahmin priest – these and otherremarkable stories come down to us in the SdokKok Thom Inscription, one of the world’s most important ancient testaments. Recovered at a ruinedtemple in Thailand close to the Cambodian border,the 340-line chronicle unlocks the early history of the Khmer Empire. Yet temple and text have remained little known about outside expert circles.In this highly readable account, formerWashingtonPost correspondent John Burgess traces the impact of the great inscription, which was carved onto asandstone monolith around 1052 AD, abandoned to the wild for centuries, then decoded by French colonialists. He relates the temple’s surprise emergence in 1979 as a haven for Cambodian refugees and resistance fighters during the war in their homeland. Today, Sdok Kok Thom is again at peace, its mission of preserving history accomplished.

Stories in Stone includes photographs of the temple, past and present, Refugee Camp 007 and its refugees and militias; extracts from previously unpublished letters of French savant Étienne Aymonier; and a revised English translation of thefull inscription by the University of Hawaii linguistsChhany Sak-Humphry and Philip N. Jenner.

John Burgess

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264 pages, 210 x 142 mmPaperback, 30 b/w illustrationsISBN 978 616 7339 18 4

THE TROUSER PEOPLEBurma in the Shadows of the Empire

Andrew Marshall

Sir George Scott was an unsung Victorian adven-turer who hacked, bullied and charmed his waythrough uncharted jungle to help establish Britishcolonial rule in Burma. Born in Scotland in 1851,Scott was a diehard Imperialist with a fondness for gargantuan pith helmets and a bluffness of expression that bordered on the Pythonesque.George Scott was also a writer and photographerwho spent a lifetime documenting the outlandishtribes who lived in Burma’s wilderness – tribes likethe Padaung ‘giraffe women’ and the headhuntingWild Wa who quaintly claimed to be descendedfrom tadpoles. Scott also extended the imperialgoalposts in another way: he introduced football to Burma where today it is a national obsession.

A century later Burma is a hermit nation misruled by a brutal military dictatorship. Its soldiers, like the British colonialists before them are scathingly nicknamed the trouser people by the country’s sarong-wearing civilians. Inspired by Scott’s unpublished diaries, Andrew Marshall retraces the explorer’s intrepid footsteps from themouldering colonial splendour of Rangoon to thefabled royal capital of Mandalay then up into the

‘A witty, beautifully turned travelogue about benighted Burma [that] is enlivened by Andrew Marshall’s eye for the absurd’ Daily Telegraph

‘An evocative travel book and an adventure story…Marshall is a gifted writer’ New York Times

Fully revised and updated edition including an afterword of theauthor’s eyewitness account of the ‘Saffron Revolution’ in 2007and its bloody crackdown by the Burmese military regime.

remote tribal heartland where Scott had his great-est adventures. Marshall recalls the opulent lives ofthe Western-educated chiefs who in Scotts’ timeruled hilltop fiefdoms half the size of England andhas his own encounter with the Wild Wa whotoday run a huge drug trafficking empire. Drivenby the untold story of an extraordinary ScotsmanThe Trouser People is an offbeat and thrilling journey through Britain’s lost heritage and a powerful exposé of Burma’s modern tragedy.

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288 pages, 232 x 170 mmPaperback, 500 colour illustrationsISBN 978 974 9863 91 6

EARLY THAILANDFrom Prehistory to Sukhothai

Dramatic new archaeological discoveries over thepast ten years demand a new look at Thailand’spast. Drawing on their previous work, ‘PrehistoricThailand’, this substantially updated book coversthe history of the Kingdom from the first humansettlement to the earliest civilisations and gives afresh appraisal of the early hunters and gatherers,and of the origins of the first rice farmers.

A new chronology reveals the dynamic socialchanges that came with the Bronze Age, and therapid advance to the foundation of early states that

Charles Higham & Rachanee Thosarat

followed. The outstanding art of the Bronze Age,as seen in painted ceramic vessels a thousand yearsearlier than those from Ban Chiang is portrayed,as is the wealth of Iron Age chiefs who contributedso much to the foundation of the Kingdoms ofAngkor and Dvaravati. In the far south, we findearly cities founded along the Southern Silk Road,bringing exotic ideas and goods through seabornetrade. Most of all, the authors present the rich cultural heritage of the Thai people.

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The Khmer civilization centred on Angkor was one of the most remarkable in Southeast Asia. Between the 8th and the 13th centuries, a succession of Hindu and Buddhist kings created magnificent temples in stone adorned with elaborate carvings. Angkor - History and Temples is a collaboration between renownedFrench scholar, Claude Jacques, and photographer Michael Freeman.

All the key temples both in and outside Angkor are groupedinto easy-to-visit itineraries, and with comprehensive plans, usefulhotel and travel information, Ancient Angkor is both an invaluableguide and a stand-alone book.

COMPLETELY REVISED EDITION

ISBN 978 616 7339 27 6 (English) ISBN 978 974 9863 82 4 (French) ISBN 978 974 9863 83 1 (Japanese)ISBN 978 974 9863 84 8 (German)

240 pages, 215 x 140 mm, Paperback, 360 colour illustrations,

47 temple plans, 5 maps

Claude Jacques Michael Freeman

ANGKORHistory & Temples

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Than Htun (Dedaye)

380 pages, 280 x 215 mmHardback, 280 colour photographsISBN 978 616 7339 23 8

LACQUERWARE JOURNEYS

The Untold Story of Burmese Lacquer

This book focuses on unpublished tribal and regional lacquerware from previously inaccessible and remote areas of Burma. The author and photog-raphy team spent five years between 2005-2010 researching and traveling tovisit peoples such as the Gadu-Ganan in Sagaing division in order to findthe most beautiful and meticulous lacquerware.

Betel boxes and miniature wooden soon-okes (meal carriers) in plainblack or red colour are found within an area as large as five thousand squaremiles east to west between Banmauk and Homalin. Other shapes are almostimpossible to find except for a few pieces transported from other regions inthe last century or in recent decades.

In addition, new research from Lower Burma focuses on and providesdetailed information on the lacquerware masters of this region and theirworkshops. Despite the popular and scholarly belief that lacquerware came

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exclusively from Upper Burma, recent research shows otherwise. Descendants of laquerware masters are still living in a small village in this region and productionspanned a period from the 1890s until World War Two.

The lacquerware of Rakhine state on the west coast of Burma, its masters, their names and localities of theproduction sites is also published for the first time.

This beautifully illustrated book goes beyond the established centres of Burmese lacquerware such as Baganand Shan State to document the wide diversity of thesehandicrafts throughout the lesser traveled and usually inaccessible areas of Burma.

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The magnificent complex of throne halls, museums and religious architecture, including the exquisite Emerald Buddha Temple, are often referred to as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of Bangkok.

Begun by King Rama I in 1782, they were constructed to emulate the glories of the formercapital Ayutthaya, sacked by the Burmese some 15years earlier. Until the beginning of the twentiethcentury, the Thai monarchs lived within theGrand Palace and all important events took placewithin its walls. Thus in each of the nine reigns of the Chakri dynasty, the king has embellished or built new structures within the compound,thereby creating a storehouse of Thai architecturaland decorative style over the last two hundredyears. King Rama IX is no exception and his newthrone hall is included in this volume.

As well as describing the exquisite buildingswithin the Grand Palace, the book also illustratesmany of the key sites which were built in its vicinity: Wat Phra Chetuphon, more commonlyknown as Wat Pho, the elegant colonial style Ministry of Defence, the City Pillar Shrine,Sanam Luang which has been a focal point for

352 pp, 232 x 170 mmPb, 500 colour ills and 6 plansISBN 978 974 9863 41 1

THE GRAND PALACE ANDRATTANAKOSIN ISLAND

Naengnoi Suksri, Narisa Chakrabongse & Thanit LimpabandhuPhotography Paisarn Piemmettawat

Thai life for over two centuries, the National Museum and the National Gallery and the newly-opened Museum of Siam. Also included are photographs, old and new, of key Thai royal ceremonies.

This beautifully photographed guide is thefirst to deal exclusively and in depth with thewealth of buildings to be explored at the GrandPalace and the surrounding Rattanakosin Island.

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ROYAL HUE – Heritage of theNguyen Dynasty of Vietnam


Hue, the ancient, royal capital of Vietnam, is a city remarkable in its striving forgreatness and beautification. Despite its many dramatic historical events, fromconflicts between ancient Vietnam and the now extinct kingdoms of Champa tothe 19th and 20th French occupation and becoming the victim ofthe Tet Offensive in 1968, much of Hue’s classical architecture survives. The exquisite royal lifestyle is still visible in the ImperialCitadel, in the Hue Museum of Royal Fine Arts and in Nguyenmausoleums in the Valley of the Tombs.

Royal Hue traces the development of this magnificent imperialcapital from its humble beginnings in the 14th century to its position as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993.

The book also documents the 143 years of Nguyen rule whenunder 13 emperors Hue was built and rebuilt, each time granderand more opulent than the last, until in August 1945 the last emperor Bao Dai handed over his Royal Seal and Sword of Mandate to representatives of the new President Ho Chi Minh.

With an authoratitive and lively text by Vietnamese-Britishhistorian Dr Vu Hong Lien and evocative photography by Paisarn Piemmettawat,Royal Hue is the perfect guide for the discerning cultural explorer to this worldheritage city.

Vu Hong LienPhotography Paisarn Piemmettawat

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The Nagas of Northeast India are radically different in culture and beliefs from theHindu peoples of the plains. Renowned for their fierce resistance to the British and their former practice of head-taking, the thousands of small Naga villages, perched on isolated hills, exhibit significant differences, with more than a dozen mutually unintelligible languages and both unity and diversity in their dress and ornament. Their vibrant material culture of textiles, basketry, jewellery, weapons and carvings is fully illustrated, while many documentary field photographs enrich this fascinating book.

Extended New Edition With additional chapter: Connecting to the Past by Marion Wettstein and Alban von Stockhausen

THE NAGASHill Peoples of Northern India

392 pp, 245 x 225 mm Pb, 700 illustrations 250 in colourISBN 0 500 97471 3

Julian Jacobs

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Restless RibeiroAn Indian Artist in Britain

88 pages, 280 x 248 mm, Pb, 70 colour and 16 B & W illustrationsISBN 978 616 7339 28 3

RESTLESS RIBEIRO

An Indian Artist in Britain

This lavishly illustrated catalogue for the forthcoming LanceRibeiro 2013 exhibition at Asia House is a fitting tribute toone of the most striking, if under-valued, artists of our time. By the early 1960s, Bombay-born artist Lancelot Ribeiro(1933-2010) or Lance, as he was later known, had had six one-man shows, and his work had toured India, Europe and NorthAmerica in “Ten Indian Painters”. He was one of the foundingmembers of “The Indian Painters Collective”, the multicultural“Rainbow Group” and “Indian Artists UK”, and organised exhibitions and lectured on Indian art and culture for theCommonwealth Institute. After two major retrospectives in the1980s, he exhibited in Germany and Switzerland and again inIndia in 1998. His last public showing was in Britain just threemonths before his death in 2010.

This catalogue demonstrates not only the highly originalnature of Ribeiro's work and how he experimented with newmaterials ahead of his time, but how he also worked tirelessly to promote Indian art, its artists and culture in Britain. Reproducing over 70 works in full colour, this book also includes contributions from those who knew Ribeiro well, such as private photographs, and letters from his familyarchive, many of which have come to light for the first time.

Ed. Katriana Hazell

The history of Vietnam is one of spectacular confrontations,both cultural and ideological, between the world of the Chinese– a world adopted by the ethnic Viet living in the Red riverbasin – and the Indian world – facets of which are seen in theCham, whose numerous small kingdoms were strung out allalong the coast from north of Hue to south of Phan Rang.

The first part of this book presents a comprehensive historyof Vietnam from the 6th to 15th centuries, highlighting theclashes between the two major civilisations which are the foundation of modern Vietnam.

The second part takes the reader on a tour of over 60 archaeological sites which are a testament to its history, as well as five major museums. Maps, plans and numerous photographs help us to experience the history of ancient Vietnam from its early beginnings through its subsequent evolution. Thus, the book is invaluable both as a guide and asthe most definitive cultural history of this fascinating country.

French scholar Anne-Valérie Schweyer is an acknowledgedexpert in Cham history, having contributed to many books andjournals. Her text is illustrated with magnificent photographsby Paisarn Piemmettawat and many maps and plans.

Anne-Valérie SchweyerPhotography by Paisarn Piemmettawat

ANCIENT VIETNAMHistory, Art and Archaeology

428 pages, 232 x 170 mmPaperback, 859 colour illustrations 40 plans

ISBN 978 974 9863 75 6 (English)ISBN 978 616 7339 14 6 (Vietnamese)ISBN 978 2 88086 396 8 (French)

THAI TAXI TALISMANS

Bangkok from the passenger seat

Dale Alan Konstanz

160 pages, 240 x 220 mmPaperback 261 colour illustrationsISBN 978 616 7339 08 5

Forthcoming 2013

Banteay Chhmar – Uncovering The Last Great Forest Temple of Ancient CambodiaEarly Buddhist Art in Northeast Thailand and Central Laos – 7th-12th CenturiesWat Bo - The Shadow of the RamayanaTai Magic – Art of the Supernatural in the Shan States and Lan NaThrough the Labyrinth – The Shan Princes in BurmaVery Bangkok – Neighbourhoods, Net works, TribesThai FurnitureBencharong – Enamelled Porcelain for Siamese Kings and Courtiers

192 pp, 232 x 170 mmPb, 300 colour photographsISBN 978 616 7339 20 7

BANTEAY CHHMAR –Uncovering the last great forest templeof Ancient Cambodia

Peter D. SharrockPhotography Paisarn Piemmettawat

Banteay Chhmar is the second monument of ancientCambodia’s greatest king, Jayavarman VII. This temple, built in the late 12th century by of one ofCambodia’s most original stone-carving and architec-tural workshops, lay in ruins for almost a thousandyears under a remote forest halfway between Angkor,the declining capital of the once mighty Khmers andAyutthaya, the burgeoning new hub of the rising Thai kingdom. At first the remoteness of BanteayChhmar made it a distant jewel in the magnificentmonumental landscape of the Khmers, but after theKhmer Empire declined in the 14th century, the temple’s art was left exposed to generations of looters.

To uncover the secrets of this large, beautiful and still forest-draped complex, Peter Sharrock hasbrought together a team of international experts, including Claude Jacques, Olivier Cunin and ThierryZephir, to decipher the reliefs of the master carvers,identify the esoteric Buddhist deities and open a newvista on Jayavarman’s reign. In keeping with the tradition of River Books of Bangkok, the guidebook is illustrated with 200 superb colour photographs byPaisarn Piemmettawat.

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300 pages, 232 x 170 mmPaperback, 300 colour illustrations

ISBN 978 616 7339 19 1

EARLY BUDDHIST ART IN NORTHEASTTHAILAND AND CENTRAL LAOS –

7th-12th Centuries

Stephen A. Murphy


WAT BOThe Shadow of the Ramayana

Vittorio Roveda

The arrival of Buddhism represents a watershedmoment in the origins and development of theearly cultures and civilisations of Southeast Asia.New forms of sacred art, iconography and architecture blossomed and the religion acted as a catalyst for social change. In northeast Thailandand central Laos, this is best illustrated by a varietyof archaeological, artistic and architectural remainsspanning the 7th-12th centuries CE. The materialranges from surviving monastic architecture to votive tablets, inscriptions and Buddha images instone, bronze or carved into rock-faces. The mostcomprehensive evidence, however, comes in theform of ornately carved sema, monumental stoneboundary markers, which can be decorated withscenes from the Life of the Buddha, past lives or

stupa motifs. Settlement patterns, archaeologicalsites and the region’s river systems also play vitalroles in understanding the movement and natureof Buddhism in the Khorat Plateau.

Containing lavish illustrations of the earliestevidence for Buddhism in the region includingboth freestanding and relief carvings of Buddhaimages, votive tablets, architectural and archaeo-logical remains and mapping over 100 locationsincluding moated sites, earthen mounds, rockshelters and Buddhist boundary markers, thisbook sets out to trace the spread and evolution ofBuddhism along the Mun, Chi and Mekong riversystems of the Khorat Plateau, a region that todayencompasses northeast Thailand and lowland areasof central and southern Laos.

Wat Bo is the most important monastery in Siem Reap, housing over 100 monks. In addition to teaching arts and crafts, local music,dance, drama, Pali and English, the temple is home to a botanicalgarden of indigenous plants and shrubs. The vihara of Wat Bo wasbuilt at the end of the 19th century and sometime between the endof the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th was painted withremarkable murals representing the local rendition of the Ramastory, derived from the Indic epic, the Ramayana. These are amongthe most important paintings in all Cambodia. The Nimi Jataka andthe Vessantara Jataka are also partially represented.

Susan Conway

248 pp, 232 x 170 mmPb, 300 colour photographsISBN 978 616 7339 15 3

TAI MAGICArt of the Supernatural in theShan states and Lan Na

Tai Magic – Arts of the Supernatural in the Shanstates and Lan Na is a superbly illustrated book thatintroduces manuscripts, textiles and talismans associated with the supernatural. Within the context of Tai cosmology and numerology, Theravada Buddhism and spirit religion, the bookexamines how good and bad spirits are representedin figurative illustrations and how mystical diagrams and spells are formulated to bring good

luck and protection or cause bad luck. Extensivefield work studies over a period of four years wereconducted in the Shan States and in northern Thailand. Using her field notes and photographs,Susan Conway provides a colourful picture of thepeople who create magic and explains how mysticalremedies are prescribed and the rituals involved. Theauthor includes comparative material from museumcollections in the USA, UK and Thailand.

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224 pp, 232 x 170 mmPb, 150 illustrationsISBN 978 616 7339 16 0

THROUGH THE LABYRINTHThe Shan Princes in Burma

Sanda Simms

Through the Labyrinth – The Shan Princes in Burma is written from a Tai/Shan perspective of the intricate andoften fractious reality that existed in the Shan States up tothe military coup in 1962. It is the first comprehensiveoverview of the stresses and strains the princes enduredfrom early periods of monarchs and wars, under Britishrule and Japanese occupation, independence and Burmanmilitary regime. They were relentless times overlaid withanxieties and uncertainties and Part One covers thesechronological events relating them to the rulers, the antagonists and the people.

Part Two deals with the 34 Tai/Shan rulers, the saohpasdescribing their personal histories, their lives and work.Much of the accounts vary in length for each of the stateswere different in size and importance. It also explains thecomplexity of the relationships between the Tai/Shan andthe diverse peoples living on the Shan plateau.

Able to interview those who were directly connected tothe saophas, with many sharing family archives publicly forthe first time, Sanda Simms offers a unique and privilegedinsight into the lives of the Shan States’ ruling princes.

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Bangkok arrests the visitor with its bewildering juxtaposition of old and new, hi-tech and impromptu, sacred and profane. Whilemodernizing at great pace under myriad outside influences, theThai capital draws equal vigour from its historic communities, cultural diversity and contemporary urban tribes. The author ofVery Thai and Time Out Bangkok, Philip Cornwel-Smith takes analternative look at the subcultures of his adopted town.

Explore the city’s contrasting environments, ethnic patchworkand intertwined beliefs. Encounter distinct social scenes, whether

hip or hi-so, local or bohemian. See how traditional roots infusethe current Thai flower-ing in arts and entertain-ments, fashion and food,lifestyle and streetlife. Engage with Bangkok’scontradictory characteraccording to your moodor interest. Wryly obser-vant photography by the author and by DowWasiksiri – selected forthe prestigious 9 Days inthe Kingdom project –enhances this insider’sfield guide to a city likeno other.

272 pages, 240 x170 mm Paperback, 300 colour illustrationsISBN 978 974 9863 50 3

VERY BANGKOKNeighbourhoods, Networks, Tribes

Philip Cornwel-SmithPhotographs by Philip Cornwel-Smith & Dow Wasiksiri

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THAI FURNITURE

Chami Jotisalikorn & Julathasana Byachrananda

230 pp, 270 x 280 mmHb, over 250 colour illustrationsISBN 978 974 9863 51 0

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250 pp, 230 x 250 mm Hardback with 400 colour illustrations ISBN 978 974 9863 59 6

BENCHARONG –Enamelled Porcelain for SiameseKings and Courtiers

Dawn F. Rooney

BACKLIST TITLESTemples of Cambodia – The Heart of AngkorAbhaya – Burma’s fearlessnessTea Horse Road – China‘s ancient trade road to TibetChina - Through The Lens of John Thomsom 1868-1872Southeast Asian Historiography Unravelling the Myths –Essays in honour of Barend Jan Terwiel

Sacred Sites of Burma – Myth and Folklore in an Evoling Spiritual realm

50 Years of Archaeology in Southeast Asia –Essays in Honour of Ian Glover

Thailand’s Political History –From the 13th Century to Modern Times

Rawfully Good – ‘Living’ Flavours of Southeast AsiaRirkrit Tiravanija – Cook BookThai Folk Wisdom – Contemporary Takes on Traditional Proverbs

`Ancient Sukhothai – Thailand’s Cultural HeritagePast Lives of The Buddha –Wat Si Chum – Art, Architecture and Inscriptions

Origins of Thai ArtAyutthaya – Venice of the EastSiam and the VaticanSiam and the League of Nations – Modernisation, Sovereignty and Multilateral Diplomacy, 1920-1940

Royal Siamese Maps – War and Trade in Nineteenth Century Thailand

Siam in Trade and War: Royal Maps of the 19th Century

The Ming Gap and Shipwreck Ceramics in Southeast Asia – Towards a Chronology of Thai Trade Ware

The Yao – The Mien and Mun Yao in China, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand

Caves of Northern Thailand

Expedition Naga – Diaries from the Hills in Northeast India 1921-1937 and 2002-2006

Very Thai – Everyday Popular CultureMesmerization – The Spells that Control Us – Why we are losing our minds to pop-culture

Thai Mother-of-Pearl InlayThai Puppets & Khon MasksBangkok Found – Reflections on the CityBuddhist Art – An Historical and Cultural JourneyKhmer Ceramics – Beauty and MeaningBayon – New perspectivesThe Khmer EmpireTonle SapImages of The GodsBuddhist Painting in CambodiaPreah Bot – Buddhist painted scrolls in Cambodia

Cambodian Dance – Celebration of the GodsRuins of AngkorAncient Luang PrabangThe Moon Princess – Memories of the Shan StatesEarly Landscapes of MyanmarTraditional Textiles of Cambodia –Cultural Threads and Material Heritage

Pictorial Cambodian TextilesThai TextilesSilken Threads Lacquer Thrones – Lan Na Court TextilesThe Secrets of Southeast Asian Textiles –Myth, Status and the Supernatural

Through The Thread of Time – Southeast Asian TextilesThe Shan – Culture, Art and CraftsMantles of Merit – Chin Textiles from Myanmar, India and Bangladesh

Chambers – English-Thai PhrasebookOxford-River Books English-Thai DictionaryPocket Oxford-River Books English-Thai Dictionary

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TEMPLES OF CAMBODIAThe Heart of Angkor

248 pages, 310 x 260 mmHardback, 216 colour illustrations, 11 plansISBN 978 616 7339 10 8

Photographs by Barry BrukoffText by Helen Ibbitson Jessup

The temples of Cambodia are among the mostcomplex and imposing architectural creations inthe world, offering nothing less than the embodiment of Khmer culture. Over a period offive hundred years, from the seventh to the twelfthcenturies, successive rulers sought to build sacredspaces that bore witness to the presence of thegods and the legitimacy of the kings. This volumeinvites the reader to experience that remarkable architectural and spiritual achievement throughextraordinary photographs and a text by a leadingKhmer cultural historian.

Organized chronologically, the book openswith the modestly scaled brick structures of the7th and 8th centuries and goes on to explore thefirst monumental temple mountains of the 9thcentury, the technical advances enabling the fulflllment of a unique Khmer architectural visionin the 10th, and the erection of the ambitious Baphuon temple mountain, among others, in the

11th, all setting the stage for the apogee of theKhmer empire in the 12th century, and with it, the construction of three massive temple com-plexes: Beng Mealea, Bakan, and the supreme architectural creation of Cambodia, Angkor Wat.

The glories of the Khmer temples do not lackfor exposure in pictorial and scholarly publications.Yet no other recent publication offers such comprehensive coverage of the Angkor temples atthe heart of Cambodia. What distinguishes thisvolume are Barry Brukoff’s photographs. Havingphotographed the temples for nearly half a century,his work not only records temples that have beendestroyed or vandalized but offer a uniquely intimate insight into the Cambodian idiom.

The viewer is drawn into the picture plane andcan sense the interior wonders of the monuments.For the flrst time a two-dimensional expression succeeds in invoking the third, and the reader canpenetrate to the heart of the temples’ mystery.

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ABHAYABurma’s fearlessness

224 pages, 295 x 230 mmPaperback, 100 photographsISBN 978 616 7339 13 9

James Mackay

In 1962 a military coup lead by General Ne Winsaw Burma, an isolated Buddhist country inSouth-East Asia, come under the power of one ofthe world’s most brutal regimes. For the past fivedecades, thousands of people have been arrested,tortured and given long prison sentences foropenly expressing their beliefs. Today, more than2,000 political prisoners including monks, stu-dents, journalists, lawyers, elected Members ofParliament and over 300 members of Aung SanSuu Kyi’s opposition party, The National Leaguefor Democracy, are incarcerated in horrendous conditions in Burma’s notorious prisons. InBurma and across the world, hundreds of formerpolitical prisoners have come together to raiseawareness of the tragic plight of their colleaguesstill detained in jail. Abhaya – Burma’s Fearlessnessis part of an international appeal for their liberation.

Photographed standing with their right handraised, palm out-turned facing the camera, thename of a current political prisoner is shown

written on their hand. The sacred Buddhist gesture of Abhaya, “Fear Not”, is not only an actof silent protest, but also one of remembrance and fearlessness.

“The people featured in this book have all had to learn to face their fears squarely during the decades they have passed in the struggle fordemocracy and human rights in Burma. Theircommitment has been their courage. It is important that they and what they stand forshould not be forgotten, that their sufferings aswell as their aspirations should be remembered.James Mackay has contributed greatly towards thisvital remembrance, which is essential if our worldis to become a progressively safer, kinder home for humanity.”

“I hope that all who read this book will beencouraged to do everything they can to gain thefreedom of political prisoners in Burma and tocreate a world where there are no political prisoners.” Aung San Suu Kyi.

Hardback,

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Scottish photographer John Thomson (1837-1921) was one of the most influential photographers of the 19th century and a pioneer of photojournalism.

Born two years before the invention of daguerreotype and the birth of photography,Thomson first travelled to Asia in 1862 where he set up a professional photographic studio. He became fascinated by local culture and the people of Asia and in 1868 he madehis second trip, this time settling in Hong Kong. Between 1868 and 1872, Thomson madeextensive trips to Guangdong, Fujian, Beijing, China’s north-east and down the Yangtzeriver, covering nearly 5,000 miles. This exhibition catalogue is drawn from his time in these regions.

These were the early days of photography when negatives were made on glass plates that had to becoated with emulsion before the exposure was made. A huge amount of cumbersome equipment had tobe carried from place to place and with perseverance, great energy and stamina, Thomson managed totake a wide variety of images and themes, including landscapes, people, architecture, domestic and streetscenes. As a foreigner, his ability to gain access to photograph women is also remarkable. In China,Thomson excelled as a photographer in quality, depth and breadth, and in artistic sensibility.

John Thomson’s photographs appear courtesy of the Wellcome Library, London.

[John Thomson’s images] offer an inspiring glimpse into a lost world that contin-ues to intrigue. An important record but also a joy to behold, this book is both history and high art.

Traveller Magazine (Autumn 2010 issue)

168 pp, 310 x 310 mm, HardbackWith 157 b/w photographsISBN 978 616 7339 00 9

CHINAThrough The Lens of John Thomson 1868-1872

The sacred sites of Burma are amongst the most beautiful and spectac-ular in all of Asia. However, the fame and sacredness of these holyplaces rests almost solely on the myths and legends that surround theirfounding and the origins of their relics. These Buddhist tales can ariseand evolve with astounding speed and creativity drawing on a varietyof sources ranging from local folklore to Sri Lankan chronicles. The author uncovers the evidence for and traces the development of theseintricate myths across a wide spectrum of sacred sites ranging fromYangon and the Mon State in Lower Burma to Pagan and Mandalay inUpper Burma as well as considering the areas of Shan influence aroundInle lake.The book demonstrates how sacred sites can emerge with remarkable

frequency in our own time with only those that possess myths catchingthe imagination of the Buddhist faithful having any chance of longterm survival. Sacred Sites of Burma is an essential read for anyone in-terested in the development of Buddhism in its many aspects, be theyits art, archaeology, history or belief.

SACRED SITES OF BURMAMyth and Folklore in an Evolving Spiritual Realm

340 pp, 232 x 170 mmPb, over 400 colour illustrationsISBN 978 974 9863 60 2

Donald M. Stadtner

This collection of twenty-one essays in honour of Professor Barend JanTerwiel deals with a wide range of issues spanning various periods oftime, both modern and pre-modern, in countries throughout Southeast Asia. The contributors have been inspired to challenge andunravel established paradigms of this diverse region’s history and indoing so propose new insights and interpretations.

Renowned historian Thongchai Winichakul sets the scene by dis-cussing Thai history in the context of Siam’s colonial conditions beforeB. J. Terwiel himself reviews the controversy surrounding the RamKhamhaeng inscription. Other topics covered include the rise of Thainationalism, concepts of gender and ethnicity and the role of magicand religion in contemporary society. The view then widens from Thailand to look at issues of historiography in Laos, dialogue and interaction between Europeans and various Southeast Asian nationsusing Dutch and Portugese sources, and issues such as the relationshipbetween myth and nation in Vietnam, Buddhism and political legitimisation in Burma, and migration and stereotypes in Indonesia.

In effect, this publication sets about debunking the myths andcommonly held perceptions of Southeast Asia’s vibrant and, at times,volatile history.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN HISTORIOGRAPHYUNRAVELLING THE MYTHSEssays in honour of Barend Jan Terwiel

Edited by Volker Grabowsky

320 pp, 232 x 170 mm Paperback, 73 b/w illustrationsISBN 978 974 9863 97 8

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This collection of essays in honour of Dr Ian Glover, one of SoutheastAsia’s most pioneering and leading archaeologists, offers an up-to-dateaccount of the main issues in the region’s archaeology from the latePleistocene to the early historic period, discussing issues such as foodsubsistence management, technology transfer and long-distance ex-change, to social complexity and political and ethical debates thattoday form important aspect of Southeast Asian studies.

The contributors tackle topics such as hunter-gatherers and earlyagriculture in East Timor, burial traditions in Thailand and Sarawak,early state velopment in Vietnam and Sulawesi, craft production andexchange stretching from India to the South China Sea, issues of post-colonialism in Laos and the creation of world heritage sites throughoutthe region.

50 YEARS OF ARCHAEOLOGYIN SOUTHEAST ASIAEssays in Honour of Ian Glover

Edited by Bérénice Bellina, Elisabeth A. Bacus, Thomas Oliver Pryce & Jan Wisseman Christie

320 pp, 232 x 170 mmPaperback, 129 colour photographs, 21 maps and 12 plansISBN 978 616 7339 02 3

328 pp, 232 x 170 mmPaperback, 36 illustrations ISBN 978 974 9863 96 1

This fully revised edition has a greatly widened scope, from the evolution of the Siamese state in the early Sukhothai period throughthe fall of Ayutthaya and the rise and consolidation of the Chakri dynasty in the late 18th and 19th centuries, to the emergence in the20th century of the Thai nation state, the large-scale investments inmodern infrastructure and the concomitant economic expansion that have occurred since the 1950s onwards.

A new final chapter addresses Thailand’s current political situation with the role of Thaksin Shinawatra and the divisive polarisation of Thai society. It traces the emergence of the rival Yellow and Red shirt groups, the takeover of Suvarnabhumi Interna-tional Airport by the PAD and the occupation of Rachaprasong bythe UDD and their eventual violent dispersal by the Thai military.

THAILAND’S POLITICAL HISTORY

From the Thirteenth Century to Modern Times

B. J. Terwiel New revised edition

Glover's work has stimulated, influenced and inspired a new generation of scholars...Not so long ago many regarded Southeast Asia as little morethana geographic appendage. [50 Years] champions the region's significancein world archaeology. Nam C. Kim, Antiquity

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284 pp, 245 x 165 mmHardback, 342 colour illustrationsISBN 978 190 4562 12 2

COOK BOOK –Just Smile and Don't Talk

192 pp, 240 x 170 mmHardback, 400 illustrationsISBN 978 616 7339 06 1

Rirkrit Tiravanija

The installations of contemporary artist Rirkrit Tiravanija are oftenstages or rooms for sharing meals, cooking, reading or playingmusic; structures for living and socializing are a core element in hiswork, which has been shown at museums and galleries throughoutthe world. In 2004 he was awarded the Hugo Boss Prize by theGuggenheim Museum, “in recognition of his profound contributionto contemporary art” and is a Professor at the School of the Arts atColumbia University. Cook Book contains 23 recipes, previously performed in museums and galleries around the world. All werecooked again in Chiang Mai and photographed by Antoinette Aurell. An essay by Thomas Kellein of the Chinati Fdtion, Marfa, and an interview between him and the artist shed light on Rirkrit's work.

“Letting things burn and cook and boil, that's great”. (RT)

Owner of the idyllic resort Puri Ganesha in Bali, Diana von Cranachhas long been a well-known local food explorer and creator of incrediblefood. A few years ago, she began a journey into the world of raw foodusing only locally sourced ingredients. In this book, Diana works withworld-famous chefs at restaurants throughout Southeast Asia to preparehealthier and lighter vegan food using their own recipes as a basis.

From Bali in Indonesia, Langkawi in Malaysia, Nha Trang in Vietnam, Siem Reap in Cambodia, Luang Prabang in Laos, Chiang Maiand Loei Provinces in Thailand and the cities of Bangkok, Singapore and Yangon, Rawfully Good reinvents over 99 well-known regional recipeswith excitingly different and invigorating ‘living’ flavours.

RAWFULLY GOOD‘Living’ Flavours of Southeast Asia

Diana von Cranach

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This dual language book features 50 proverbs and sayingsfrom Thailand, each interpreted with an abundance of vibrant pizzazz reflecting modern Thai culture, using sensational visuals from some of Thailand's leading contemporary artists such as Manit Sriwanichpoom, Pinaree Sanpitak and Jakkai Siributr. S.E.A. Write award winner, Jane Vejjajiva's explanation of

the proverbs is accompanied by the delightful tale of school-girl Lum Nam and her aunt and uncle. Their life in modernBangkok link ancient Thai Folk Wisdom with the vibrantmodern city.

THAI FOLK WISDOM

Contemporary Takes on Traditional Proverbs

Tulaya Pornpiriyakulchai & Jane Vejjajiva

120 pp, 240 x 220 mmPb, 100 colour illustrationsISBN 978 974 9863 78 7

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This authoritative guide covers the history and art of the 13th and 14thcentury Sukhothai, often considered the ‘classic’ period of Thai art. Situated in the fertile Yom River basin of north-central Thailand theguide covers the cities of Sukhothai, Si Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet. As well as surveying over 80 temples in the three sites and highlighting

masterpieces from related museums, the author discusses the art and architecture of the period, with a special section on ceramics. Dawn F Rooney has lived and worked in Thailand for 30 years and is

an expert in Southeast Asian Art. She has a PhD in ceramics.

248 pp, 240 x 170 mm, paperback, 395 colour ills, 14 plans and mapsISBN 978 974 9863 42 8

ANCIENT SUKHOTHAIThailand’s Cultural Heritage

Dawn F. Rooney

Wat Si Chum is unique among Sukhothai temples. Inside, lining theceiling of a dark and narrow staircase leading to the open roof, are 86inscribed stone reliefs depicting jatakas, the former lives of GotamaBuddha. Their unique character and arrangement have puzzled generations of scholars. In this original volume, a team of expertspresents the latest evidence and new solutions. 296 pp, 230 x 250 mm

Hb, with 390 colour llustrationsand 30 plans and mapsISBN 978 974 9863 45 9

PAST LIVES OF THE BUDDHAWat Si Chum – Art, Architecture and Inscriptions

This superb study invites us to look at Wat Si Chum in a whole newlight. Rather than a rather squat, blocky building, we can now imagine itas one-fifth of a fantastic tower. Rather than wondering why the Jatakaslabs were "hidden away", we can view them as intrinsic to a very ambitious project of religious construction. This revised view of thebuilding raises new questions about Sukhothai's history. Chris Baker, Bangkok Post, Sept. 2009

Peter Skilling, M. L. Pattaratorn Chirapravati, Pierre Pichard, Prapod Assavavirulhakarn, & Santi Pakdeekham

ORIGINS OF THAI ART

Betty Gosling

This richly illustrated, very readable book presents a survey of earlyThai art from prehistory to the thirteenth century within the contextof recent art historical and related research. The myriad pieces of thecomplex cross-cultural jigsaw are fitted together to create a coherentpicture of the evolution of Thai art.The late Betty Gosling was the author of three previous books on

Southeast Asian art as well as many articles in scholarly journals.

196 pp, 225 x 245 mm, hardback,over 300 colour illustrationsISBN 974 8225 99 2

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AYUTTHAYA –Venice of the EastDerick Garnier

200 pp, 253 x 182 mmHb, 99 colour llustrationsISBN 974 8225 60 7

SIAM AND THEVATICAN

146 pp, 253 x 182 mm Hb, 91 colour illustrations ISBN 974 8225 68 2

The fight against human trafficking, public health, or combating the international drug trade are some of the most pressing problemsThailand and the world face today. However, these topics were already high on the international political agenda over 80 years ago during colonial times, when the League of Nations, the United Nations’ predecessor, was created.

This first in-depth study of Thai foreign relations in well over a decade traces how these and other policy areas brought Siam incontact with the League of Nations, after the kingdom had signedthe Treaty of Versailles to become an original member of this firstglobal body. Using never before consulted primary sources in Thai-land and Europe, the study tells the story of a unique relationshipbetween the only independent country in Southeast Asia and theLeague during the inter-war years of 1920-1940.

SIAM ANDTHE LEAGUE OF NATIONSModernisation, Sovereignty and Multilateral Diplomacy, 1920-1940

Stefan Hell

Foreword by Tej Bunnag, former Minister of Foreign Affairs

Stefen Hell’s book is full of wonderful and little known details. ...Readersmay be more interested, however, in Collective Security ... It is here thatStefan Hell is at his best in demonstrating a firm grasp and clear under-standing of Thai foreign policy and diplomatic conduct of the time. Tej Bunnag, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand

284 pp, 232 x 170 mm, Paperback, 22 b/w photographs ISBN 978 974 9863 89 3

Between 1351 and 1767 AD, Ayutthaya, capitalof Siam was one of the most important tradingcentres in Southeast Asia, renowned throughoutthe world for its wealth and beauty.Derick Garnier traces the history of the city and

the Chao Phraya river which was so essential to itstrade, in a text which is scholarly and entertaining.

Formal relations between Siam and the Vaticandate from 1669 when Pope Clement IX sent apapal brief to King Narai. Informal relationsbegan earlier with the arrival of the Portugueseand their priests. King Narai responded withtwo missions to Rome but only the second arrived in late 1688. The events behind thesemissions are related by historian MichaelSmithies, assisted by the former Apostolic Nuncio of Bangkok, Mgr. Bressan.

Michael Smithies and Mgr. Bressan

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88 pp, 280 x 245 mm, Pb, 120 colour ills ISBN 974 9863 26 7

208 pp, 300 x 245 mm, Hardback, 378 colour illustrationsISBN 974 8225 92 5

ROYAL SIAMESE MAPSWar and Trade in Nineteenth Century Thailand

SIAM IN TRADE AND WARRoyal Maps of the 19th Century

In 2005, five of the antique maps went on show at the Jim ThompsonHouse, Center for Arts. Together with 80 other related items such asswords, paintings, sculptures, porcelain, and other maps, the exhibi-tion Siam in Trade and War – Royal Maps of the Nineteenth Centurygives a fascinating picture of Siamese history and geopolitics duringthe first three reigns of the Chakri dynasty.

Essays by the late Henry Ginsburg, Dawn Rooney and NarisaChakrabongse provide the historical background to the period.

In 1996, seventeen enormous and beautiful, hand-drawn cottonmaps were discovered in the Grand Palace, Bangkok. They recordcartographically Siamese warfare and trade in the early Bangkok Period (1782-1851). Focusing on Siam and her neighbours, the collection includes a four-metre coastal map extending from peninsular Malaysia through China to Korea.Santanee Phasuk gained her doctorate in cartography from the

School of Oriental and African Studies, London University. PhilipStott was professor of Geography at SOAS.

Santanee Phasuk & Philip Stott

208 pp, 240 x 170 mm, Hardback, 295 colour llustrationsISBN 978 974 9863 77 0

Shipwrecks throughout Southeast Asia and the precious cargoes theycontain represent invaluable information for the study of interna-tional trade networks. In this book the late Dr. Roxanna M. Brownanalyses over 120 wrecks to trace the developments and fluctuationsof the hitherto little-studied international ceramic trade betweenChina and Southeast Asia, in particular the 14th-15th centuries, aperiod known as the ‘Ming Gap’ when export of Chinese ceramicswas banned by the Ming Dynasty. As a result for over a centurySoutheast Asian ceramics became the dominant trade ware through-out the region.

Roxanna Maude Brown

THE MING GAP AND SHIPWRECKCERAMICS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Towards a Chronology of Thai Trade Ware

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EXPEDITION NAGA –Diaries from the Hills in NortheastIndia1921-1937 2002-2006

Peter van Ham & Jamie Saul

296 pp, 250 x 300 mm Hb, 697 ills, 5 plans and mapsISBN 978 974 9863 70 1

Expedition Naga is an exciting multi-sensory trip intoone of the world’s most remote and least accessibleregions in Northeast India near the Burmese border.Many areas had not seen foreigners for over 80 yearswhen Peter van Ham and Jamie Saul obtained permission for their fieldwork. With nearly 600 stunning contemporary and historic photographs,along with 140 minute film on the enclosed DVD.

THE YAO – The Mien and Mun Yao inChina, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand

278 pp, 225 x 245 mm, Pb, 750 colour ills, ISBN 974 8225 52 6

The Yao, a non-Han minority moved many centuries agofrom the Yang Tse basin to southern China, Northern Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. Their strong Taoist beliefs,seen in their magnificent paintings, helped them survive as a society with strong traditions, despite having no country of their own. Distinctive dress and silver jewelleryalso help to define their various sub-groups.

Jess G. Pourret

More caves occur in the eight northern provincesof Thailand – Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Lam-phun, Lampang, Chiang Rai, Phayao, Nan andPhrae – than in any other region. In Pang Ma Phadistrict in Mae Hong Son province alone 176caves are recorded and many remain to be ex-plored But although the 100 selected for this bookare only 5% or so of the caves in Northern Thai-land, they include many of the most spectacular:wild caves, temple caves and archaeological sites.The book covers all aspects of caves includingtheir geology, environment, archaeology, templesand folklore.

Pindar Sidisunthorn, Simon Gardner & Dean Smart

392 pp, 240 x 170 mmHb, over 900 colour ills 106caves described and illustratedISBN 974 9863 13 5

..an extremely well-researched, carefully constructedpublication that is a credit to both the authors andthe publisher .. An unusual, and truly impressive work. ‘Descent’ Journal of Speleology, Dec. 2006

CAVES OF NORTHERN THAILAND

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This pioneering insight into contemporary Thai folk culture delvesbeyond the traditional Thai icons to reveal the casual, everyday expressions of Thainess that so delight and puzzle. From floraltruck bolts and taxi altars to buffalo cart furniture and drinks in abag the same exquisite care, craft and improvisation resoundsthrough home and street, bar and wardrobe.

Philip Cornwel-Smith is a freelance editor of the Time OutBangkok guidebook, following eight years as the founding editor of Bangkok Metro magazine. John Goss is an American artist whoworks with traditional and electronic media.

256 pages, 240 x 170 mm Hardback, 492 colour illustrationsISBN 978 974 9863 67 1 (English) ISBN 978 974 9863 36 7 (German)Japanese edition in preparation

In Mesmerization, Gee Thomson deconstructs contemporary culture in a new and exciting way. From faith to fashion, psycho-babble to cyber-sex, the book examines the viral nature of ‘memes’. Dominant across all media, these ubiquitous spellsand social prescriptions drive and shape global behaviour – wearthe right trainers, be blonde, be thin, the Great Satan, eco-warrior, climate change. These influences are fundamental in decidingwhat gets seen, what gets said, what gets made, impacting on how we lead our lives, the look of our homes, cities and our environments.Designed by acclaimed design company Why Not, the book

uses a unique combination of graphic spells and formulas to decode the ‘spells’ that control our age. Media guru Gee Thomsonfounded the ground-breaking Shots magazine in the 1990s and isnow part of the Contagious group.

VERY THAI – Everyday Popular Culture

Philip Cornwel-SmithPhotographs by John Goss

MESMERIZATION – The Spells that Control Us– Why we are losing our minds to pop-culture

Gee Thomson

240 pages, 260 x 205 mmWith 67 ills and 140 photographs ISBN 978 974 9863 56 5ISBN 978 0 500 97679 1 T&H

Required reading for visitors, residents and anyone anywhereinterested in what makes Thailand tick. Asian Wall Street Journal

A thrilling, trail-blazing book of cultural history that will help you seeand understand Thailand afresh... Very Thai explicates the everyday mysteries and expressions of Thai culture. A work of astounding breathand erudition. Very Thai has few, if any, English-language equals. Bangkok Post

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BANGKOK FOUNDReflections on the City

316 pp, 210 x 142 mm, Pb 79 b/w illustrations and 2 mapsISBN 978 974 9863 92 3

Evocative and incisive, Bangkok Found looks deep within traditional culture to discover how Bangkok is like no other contemporary city. It’s the book you read after you’ve seen the temples and enjoyed the nightlife – and then start to wonder where the mysterious appeal of Bangkok really lies.

With wit and a wealth of anecdotes from Kerr’s thirty years experience in Thailand, Bangkok Found, sequel to his award-winning Lost Japan, takes you on a journey to the essential and the quirky, the factual and the mythical.

In this series of meditations on the city, old culture meets global fusion in the crossroads that is Bangkok.

Alex Kerr

THAI MOTHER-OF-PEARL INLAY

Julathusana Byachrananda

For over 500 years Thai mother-of-pearl inlay has developed a distinctive and beautiful style. Used for a wide variety of decorativepurposes – doors and windows for temples, palace thrones and precious objects such as monks' alm bowls or boxes – the book illustrates the best examples of mother-of-pearl inlay from the Ayutthaya period onwards, combining history with superlativephotography. 184 pages, 210 x 240 mm,

Hardback, over 300 colour illus. ISBN 974 8225 63 1

THAI PUPPETS & KHON MASKS

164 pages, 210 x 240 mm Hardback, over 250 colour llustrationsISBN 974 8225 23 2

N. Chandavij & P. Pramualratana

Elaborately gilded masks worn by dancers performing in the popular Ramayana dance drama are an enduring symbol of Thaiculture. Since their introduction in the late eighteenth century,many hundreds of thousands of masks have been produced byskilled craftsmen. Less well-known as an art form, the history ofThai puppetry dates back to 17th century Ayutthaya when large,metre-high puppets were used to relate popular folk tales. Todaypractitioners of this art form are becoming scarce, as are the finelycrafted puppets themselves.

The joy of the book is that Alex Kerr arrived in Bangkok as a seeker, and now takes us along for a replay of the ride. At the end he admitsBangkok is too elusive to truly be ‘found’. But he has written probablythe best single ‘guide’ for a visitor to Bangkok, who wants to be provoked into looking at the city as it is, not as it is often portrayed.

Chris Baker, Bangkok Post, 28 June 2010

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400 pp, 310 x 240 mm, Hb 680 colour ills, 22 maps and 78 plansISBN 978 974 9863 87 9

Gilles Béguin

BUDDHIST ART

An Historical and Cultural Journey

Buddhism and its art represent the one truly unifying factorof the entire Asian continent and is a fundamental part of ourshared world heritage. Trying to draw a unique portrait of thisart in a single work is a formidable task due to the great plu-rality in traditions spanning different countries and regionsover various epochs, with the variability in the conservationof Buddhist monuments providing additional challenges.

Expert in Buddhist art, Gilles Béguin takes the reader onan historical and cultural journey across the vastness of Asiafrom India, Sri Lanka and Gandhara to Thailand, Cambodiaand Burma in Southeast Asia, then up to the Himalayan king-doms of Nepal and Tibet before arriving at China, Koreanand Japan.

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KHMER CERAMICSBeauty and Meaning

Dawn F. Rooney, Krisda Pinsri & Pariwat ThammapreechakornPhotography by Robert McLeod

262 pp, 300 x 245 mm, Hardback, 300 colour llustrationsISBN 978 974 9863 88 6

This magnificent book explores the meaning of Khmer ceramics both in terms of their function and their aesthetics,drawing on the 160 superlative pieces in the YothinTharahirunchot collection.

Renowned ceramics expert Dawn F. Rooney provides an authoritative discussion of each piece. while the two Thaischolars, Krisda Pinsri and Pariwat Thammapreechakorn discuss hitherto understudied areas of Khmer ceramics.Renowned photographer, Robert McLeod, provides wonder-fully evocative images.

TONLE SAPCambodia’s Natural Heritage

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BAYONNew Perspectives

Edited by Joyce ClarkContributors: Ang Choulean, Olivier Cunin, Claude Jacques, TS Maxwell, Vittorio Roveda, Anne-Valérie Schweyer, Peter D Sharrock, MichaelVickery and Hiram Woodward

Nine researchers probe the mysteries of this extraordinary monumentand its giant face towers built by King Jayavarman VII in the early13th century. Bayon: – New perspectives brings together for the firsttime leading scholars whose insights challenge, not always in consen-sus, many of the earlier interpretations of the Bayon's art, architectureand inscriptions.

Claude Jacques gives a close-up of Jayavarman's life and family. T.S.Maxwell looks at the Bayon 'short inscriptions' and the unique Buddhist-Hindu-ancestral religion of Jayavarman. Olivier Cunin usesnew technology to chart the temple's architectural design changes.Peter Sharrock finds signs of Tantric Buddhism and suggest the Buddha Vajrasattva for the face towers. Anne-Valérie Schweyer uses the inscriptions of the neighbouring Chams to throw new light on theking's psychology and life, charted by Vittorio Roveda in the detailedpolitical reliefs of the Bayon's outer gallery. Ang Choulean providespresent-day local folklore associated with the monument. HiramWoodward provides a masterly preface.

416 pp, 240 x 170 mm, Hb, 242 photographs, 87 diagrams and 3 mapsISBN 978 974 9863 47 3

Claude Jacques, longtime Cambodian scholar, explores Khmertemples beyond Angkor, journeying from the sites of the earlypre-Angkorean Funan to those built by King Jayavarman VII inthe late 12th century. Superbly photographed by Philippe Lafond, the virtual

tour of exquisite Khmer architecture ranges from the cliff-topPreah Vihear overlooking the Cambodian plain, to the mysteri-ous site of Preah Khan of Kompong Svay and the temple-in-theforest of Beng Mealea.

THE KHMER EMPIRECities and Sanctuaries from the 5th to the 13th Century

Claude Jacques & Philippe Lafond

280 pp, 300 x 245 mm, Hb, 400 colourills and 42 maps and plans ISBN 974 9863 30 5

The Tonle Sap, also known as Cambodia’s Great Lake is remark-able in increasing, in the rainy season, from 2,500 to about13,000 square kilometres in area. Colin Poole examines all aspectsof this fascinating and beautiful lake – its environment, fauna, history, culture and future – with memorable photographs byEleanor Briggs.

Colin Poole & Eleanor Briggs

172 pp, 230 x 250 mmHb, over 200 colour ills ISBN 974 9863 15 1

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IMAGES OF THE GODS

Vittorio Roveda

The myths and legends of the Khmers displayed in low reliefs in allthe major temples in Cambodia, Thailand and Laos are examinedin depth and richly illustrated in this authoritative volume by author Vittorio Roveda. Stories of the gods and human actors inthe great epics of the Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Puranas arebrought to life in greater detail than ever before. A new emphasis isgiven to Buddhist visual narratives of the life of the Buddha andthe Jatakas. In addition, unusual animal and humanoid creatureson the cusp between myth and fantasy, are illustrated.

544 pp, 240 x 170 mm, Hardback, 2,000 colour illustrations ISBN 974 9863 03 8 DVD with 860 additional images

This lavishly-illustrated book documents the rich Buddhist cultural heritage of Cambodia. After a discussion of Buddhist art ingeneral, the authors highlight the most important mural paintings,as well as the architecture of the temples in which they are housed,painting techniques and narrative systems.The authors describeover 100 viharas with mural paintings throughout Cambodia, illustrated in 630 colour photographs many of which have neverbeen published before.

This book is a beautiful and important record of CambodianBuddhist painting, both traditional and modern.

BUDDHIST PAINTING IN CAMBODIA

328 pp, 279 x 213 mmHardback, 630 colour llustrationsISBN 978 974 9863 52 7

Vittorio Roveda and Sothorn Yem

Graduallly fading in disuse and ignored by art histrians and museums, thebeautifully painted Buddhist scrolls known in Cambodia as preah bot havebeen produced since the end of the 19th century as a manifestation of thefaith of pious Cambodian lay people, and are an important element of thecountry's rich Buddhist cultural heritage. A large variety of cloths are illustrated, showing events from the life of the Buddha and his previous livesnarrated in the Jataka tales, with particular emphasis on the Vessantara Jataka,detailing both its Pali version and previously unknown Khmer versions.

This important book is the first to document preah bot at a time when theproduction of such cloths for religious use is declining and being replaced bycommercial production for tourists or art collectors.

PREAH BOT – Buddhist painted scrolls in CambodiaVittorio Roveda & Sothon Yem

152 pages, 240 x 170 mmPb, 172 colour llustrationsISBN 978 974 9863 99 2

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RUINS OF ANGKORCambodia in 1909

Piere Dieulefils with texts by Louis Finot & Lunet de la Jonquière

152 pp, 210 x 275 mm, Hb Over 200 duotone llustrationsISBN 974 8225 80 1

Over a century ago, when the French,through the l'Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient, managed Angkor and its environs, the temples were magnificentlyphotographed by Piere Dieulefils and expertly documented by Louis Finot. Thisimportant record allows us to comparepast and present.

CAMBODIAN DANCECelebration of the Gods

Denise Heywood 144 pp, 250 x 230 mm, Hardback. 300 ills, 208 in colourISBN 978 974 9863 40 4

This isn’t simply a book for everyone interested inSouth Asiandance, though it is certainly that. This is a book for everyone in-terested in dance.

Bill Harpe, Dancing Times, September 2009

In Cambodia, dance is central to the country’sidentity. Religious in origin, its traditions dateback more than a thousand years to the greatKhmer empire. Dancers performed in temples atAngkor echoing the celestial dancers carved on thetemple walls.

The history of Cambodian dance, the relation-ship with Siam, the role of the French in bringingthe dancers to the west, and the stories of dancerswho survived the dark period in Cambodian history to revive classical dance today are related in this fascinating and beautifully illustrated book.

214 pp, 240 x 170 mm, Pb315 colour and 63 b/w illsISBN 978 974 9863 66 4 (Eng)ISBN 978 974 9863 65 7 (Fr)

ANCIENT LUANG PRABANG

Denise Heywood

High in the mountains of northern Laos, cut through bythe Mekong river, is Luang Prabang, a town of Buddhisttemples and barefoot monks. Luang Prabang is a treasuretrove of sacred art dating from the 17th century. 36 impor-tant Buddhist temples, elaborately carved and exquisitelyfrescoed and gilded are described and illustrated.

In addition, the author discusses the architectural con-tributions of the French colonisers. Today, the combinationof traditional Lao architecture and elegant colonial build-ings have made Luang Prabang one of the most beautifuland best preserved towns in Southeast Asia, well deservingof its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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The cornucopia of newly published discoveries. . . makes this essential reading for those interested in the early history of Myanmar and mainlandSoutheast Asia. Donald Stadtner, JSS, Vol. 97, 2009

EARLY LANDSCAPES OF MYANMAR

272 pp, 240 x 170 mm Paperback, over 400 colour and 60 b/w ills, 44 maps and plansISBN 974 9863 31 3

The authoritative text, describing the emergence of the Buddhistlandscapes of Myanmar, is framed by the artefacts, sites and ecologyof Upper and Lower Myanmar, with coverage of the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze-iron chiefdoms that preceded Hindu-Buddhistwalled polities of the first millennium AD. Views and descriptions of sites, many not published in English before, include Letpanchibaw,Htaukmagon, Moegyobyin, Badigon, Ta- gaung, Halin, Sriksetra,Thaton and Dawei.

Elizabeth H. Moore

310 pp, 240 x 170 mmPb, 162 b/w illsISBN 978 974 9863 37 4

THE MOON PRINCESS

Memories of the Shan States

Sanda Simms

Sao Nang Mya Sanda has, at the wonderful age of 80, graced us with a remarkable memoir that rides on history’s elephantine back out of Burma’snorthern hills and across the world... Its reach extends far from the Shanmountains to touch on matters of great historical and social importance –and matters of the swelling heart as well. Paul Dorsey, The Nation, March 2, 2008

Narrated by the eldest daughter of Sao Shwe Thaike, The Moon Princessis both an autobiography and a memoir of her father who, in 1948, became first President of the Union of Burma. Growing up in the ShanStates, she records the changes that occurred during British colonialrule, war and Japanese occupation, the return of the British administra-tion, Burma’s independence and the military takeover in 1962.

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PICTORIAL CAMBODIAN TEXTILES

Gillian Green

166 pp, 230 x 250 mm Pb, 278 colour illsISBN 978 974 9863 39 8

Gill Green is to be congratulated on this important contribution to our understanding of Cambodian textiles . ..her findings richly illustrated in the high-quality plates. . . the book provides an extremely satisfying aestheticexperience.

Milton Osborne, The Asian Arts Society of Australia, Vol. 18, no. 1

The pictorial representations of Cambodian silk hangings, pidan, are unique in mainland SoutheastAsia. Many of the few surviving antique textiles visualise Buddhist themes – a response in silk to similarimages in other media also used in community religious practice. This book illuminates many facets of thesespectacular cloths, assembling for the first time a comprehensive collection of pictorial pidan from private and public collections.

The unique character of the 19th century Lan Naculture of Northern Thailand is seen in its sump-tuous textiles and court dress reflecting a diversecultural heritage. In addition, Susan Conway situ-ates this textile history within the context of thecomplex marital and political alliances of the time.

282 pp, 280 x 215 mm,Hb, over 300 colour illsISBN 974 8225 65 8

SILKEN THREADS LACQUERTHRONES – Lan Na Court Textiles

Susan Conway

Thailand’s rich textile heritage ranges from simplecotton blankets and ceremonial banners to luxurious silks with gold and silver thread. Overthe centuries weavers from neighbouring countrieshave further enhanced the variety and quality oftextiles and weaving patterns.

192 pp, 270 x 207 mm Pb, 160 colour ills ISBN 974 8225 79 8

THAI TEXTILES

Susan Conway

TRADITIONAL TEXTILES OF CAMBODIACultural Threads and Material Heritage

320 pp, 279 x 213 mm, Hb, over 400 colour ills, ISBN 974 8225 39 9

Gillian Green

The silks and costumes of Cambodia are among the most beautifuland complex in Southeast Asia. Gillian Green's comprehensive textprovides an historical framework from the Angkorian period onwards. From every day dress and dance costumes, to temple hangings and monks robes, all aspects of Cambodian textiles are elucidated and illustrated in full colour.

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216 pp, 275 x 217 mm, Pb with over 300 colour illsISBN 978 974 9863 38 1

This highly-illustrated book presents the insights of 12 cholars into the textiles of Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Authors include Mattiebelle Gittenger, John Guy, Susan Conway and Gillian Green. Topics cover such diverse subjects as Shan and Thai court dress, Khmer textiles and Cham weaving.

182 pp, 275 x 217 mmPb, 220 colour ills ISBN 974 8225 76 3

THE SECRETS OF SOUTHEASTASIAN TEXTILESMyth, Status and the Supernatural

The James H W Thompson Foundation Symposium Papers Edited by Jane Puranananda

THROUGH THE THREAD OFTIME – Southeast Asian Textiles

Fifteen scholars including Diana K Myers, GillianGreen and John Guy discuss the mythology andbeliefs surrounding Southeast Asian textiles.

......beautifully produced and written... worth buying for the illustrations alone... The book alsomakes a valuable and fascinating scholarly contribu-tion to a little studied part of the Tai world. Martin Stuart-Fox, JSS, 2007 Vol. 95

The culture of the Shan and their rulers is explored in this fascinating volume with rare, previously unpublished photographs of life in thecourts and in the hill regions of Shan dominion.

212 pp, 280 x 215 mm Hb, Over 300 colour ills.ISBN 974 9863 06 2

Susan Conway

David & BarbaraFraser

...the authors have exceeded expectations. Their photographs of textiles, textile production, people, and environment are both beautiful and informative. Rebecca Hall, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 126.4 2006

THE SHANCulture, Art and Crafts

288 pp, 280 x 215 mm Hb, 650 colour illsISBN 974 9863 01 1

The rich textile heritage of the Chinemphasizes blanketsand intricate tunicsof homespun cotton,flax, hemp and silk, dyed with indigo and lac, andwoven on a back-tension loom. Winner of the Millia Davenport Publication Award 2006, for the bestbook on costume and the R. L. Shep Book Award2007, as the best book on ethnic textiles.

MANTLES OF MERITChin Textiles from Myanmar, Indiaand Bangladesh

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This brand new English-Thai phrasebook from Chambers is ideal for anyonewishing to try out their foreign language skills while travelling abroad. The information is practical and clearly presented, helping you to overcome the language barrier and mix with the locals.Each section features a list of useful words and a selection of common

phrases: some of these you will read or hear, while others will help you to expressyourself. The simple phonetic transcription system, specifically designed forEnglish speakers, ensures that you will always make yourself understood.The book also includes a mini dictionary of around 2,500 words, so that

more adventurous users can build on the basic structures and engage in morecomplex conversations.Concise information on local culture and customs is provided, along with

practical tips to save you time. After all, you’re on holiday-time to relax andenjoy yourself! There is also a food and drink glossary to help you make sense ofmenus, and ensure that you don’t miss out on any of the national or regionalspecialties.

192 pages, 102 x 145 mmPaperbackISBN 978 974 9863 94 7

CHAMBERS : ENGLISH-THAI PHRASEBOOK

1,084 pp, 255 x 180 mmHardbackISBN 978 974 9863 79 4

Available from the App Store

OXFORD RIVER BOOKSENGLISH-THAI DICTIONARY

The result of over 12 years preparation, this is the most comprehensiveEnglish-Thai dictionary in the world. Based on the unparelled experienceof Oxford University Press in dictionary making, the Translation Centre at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok has produced a dictionary which captures the idiomatic, colloquial, spoken and written character of Eng-lish. Incorporating over 230,000 words and phrases, with many helpful intext boxes, a selection of useful phrases and a list of irregular verbs, it is adynamic passport to the English language for native Thai speakers.At the same time, advanced Thai learners can develop their Thai lan-

guage skills. The dictionary includes a section on the characteristics of theThai language and a list of government organisations.

This edition which translates the best-selling Pocket Oxford dictionary into Thai will provide the best coverage of modern English-Thai available in a smaller sized dictionary. Its accessible,jargon-free style makes it the first choice for everyday referenceneeds. 65,000 entries and translations and 75,000 definitions aregiven, with helpful labelling of informal and slang terms designed toimprove your command of the language.

POCKET OXFORD-RIVER BOOKSENGLISH-THAI DICTIONARY

560 pp, 195 x 130 mmPaperbackISBN 978 974 9863 61 9

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