Travellers Eye

Travelle

This edition © Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd, 2021 Text and images © Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, 2021 First published in 2021 by Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd 10 Lion Yard Tremadoc Road London SW4 7NQ, UK www.scalapublishers.com In association with Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa Largo Trindade Coelho 1200-470 Lisboa Portugal ISBN: 978-989-9021-38-9/978-1-78551-322-0 Editorial management: Francisco Capelo Project management: Maria Margarida Montenegro, Teresa Freitas Morna Consultant: Maria do Carmo Lino Editorial adviser: Claúdia Ribeiro Administration: Fatima Rodrigues English-language editor: Robert Davies Translation: Kennistranslation S.A., John Elliot Design: Vichian Phoemthaweesuk and Somchai Thamasuk, 11 Colours Co. Ltd

Contents 9 Forewords 13 Preface 17 Francisco Capelo: A passion for museums Raquel Henriques da Silva Ethiopia 22 The myth of Prester John: Early European imaginings of the Orient Manuel João Ramos 30 48 58 68 80 86

Japan Japanese art: An introduction Alexandra Curvelo Japanese lacquer: An art for the senses Alexandra Curvelo The beauty of Japanese ceramics Alexandra Curvelo Rimpa aesthetics in the Edo period Francisco Capelo Economy and the floating world Francisco Capelo The origins of Noh theatre Francisco Capelo China Pleasures of colour, texture and form Regina Krahl Cosmopolitan Tang dynasty and funeral pottery David Priestley Painted pottery: A figure of a court lady David Priestley Sancai-glazed wares David Priestley Glaze experiment: A phosphatic-splashed jar David Priestley Secret colour: A Yueyao bowl David Priestley White-glazed wares David Priestley Magic blue glaze: Junyao wares David Priestley Green Yaozhou wares David Priestley A Cizhou-type wide-mouthed ribbed jar David Priestley A Cizhou-type ‘oil-spot’ bowl David Priestley Jianyao tea bowls David Priestley Jizhou painted wares David Priestley Longquan celadon wares David Priestley

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa and Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd. Every effort has been made to acknowledge correct copyright of images where applicable. Any errors or omissions are unintentional and should be notified to the Publisher, who will arrange for corrections to appear in any reprints.

90 104 108 110 114 116 118 124 126 130 132 134 138 140

Cover images: cats 123, 25

Korea 144 Korean ceramics, another tradition David Priestley

Printed in Italy 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Opening pages: cats 41, 203, 171, 83, 85; Nobleman in Durbar, miniature painting, 18th century, Marwar, Jodhpur, India; Women and child, woodcut, Kitagawa Utamaro, late 19th century, Japan; Grouse and maple, six-fold screen, Rimpa school, 2nd quarter of the 19th century, Japan.

Page 392: Pua kombu (ritual cloth), late 19th century, Sarawak, Malaysia

India and the Himalayas 150 From the Mauryas to the Palas: The rise and fall of Buddhist art in India Sushma Jansari

This edition © Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd, 2021 Text and images © Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, 2021 First published in 2021 by Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd 10 Lion Yard Tremadoc Road London SW4 7NQ, UK www.scalapublishers.com In association with Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa Largo Trindade Coelho 1200-470 Lisboa Portugal ISBN: 978-989-9021-38-9/978-1-78551-322-0 Editorial management: Francisco Capelo Project management: Maria Margarida Montenegro, Teresa Freitas Morna Consultant: Maria do Carmo Lino Editorial adviser: Claúdia Ribeiro Administration: Fatima Rodrigues English-language editor: Robert Davies Translation: Kennistranslation S.A., John Elliot Design: Vichian Phoemthaweesuk and Somchai Thamasuk, 11 Colours Co. Ltd

Contents 9 Forewords 13 Preface 17 Francisco Capelo: A passion for museums Raquel Henriques da Silva Ethiopia 22 The myth of Prester John: Early European imaginings of the Orient Manuel João Ramos 30 48 58 68 80 86

Japan Japanese art: An introduction Alexandra Curvelo Japanese lacquer: An art for the senses Alexandra Curvelo The beauty of Japanese ceramics Alexandra Curvelo Rimpa aesthetics in the Edo period Francisco Capelo Economy and the floating world Francisco Capelo The origins of Noh theatre Francisco Capelo China Pleasures of colour, texture and form Regina Krahl Cosmopolitan Tang dynasty and funeral pottery David Priestley Painted pottery: A figure of a court lady David Priestley Sancai-glazed wares David Priestley Glaze experiment: A phosphatic-splashed jar David Priestley Secret colour: A Yueyao bowl David Priestley White-glazed wares David Priestley Magic blue glaze: Junyao wares David Priestley Green Yaozhou wares David Priestley A Cizhou-type wide-mouthed ribbed jar David Priestley A Cizhou-type ‘oil-spot’ bowl David Priestley Jianyao tea bowls David Priestley Jizhou painted wares David Priestley Longquan celadon wares David Priestley

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa and Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd. Every effort has been made to acknowledge correct copyright of images where applicable. Any errors or omissions are unintentional and should be notified to the Publisher, who will arrange for corrections to appear in any reprints.

90 104 108 110 114 116 118 124 126 130 132 134 138 140

Cover images: cats 123, 25

Korea 144 Korean ceramics, another tradition David Priestley

Printed in Italy 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Opening pages: cats 41, 203, 171, 83, 85; Nobleman in Durbar, miniature painting, 18th century, Marwar, Jodhpur, India; Women and child, woodcut, Kitagawa Utamaro, late 19th century, Japan; Grouse and maple, six-fold screen, Rimpa school, 2nd quarter of the 19th century, Japan.

Page 392: Pua kombu (ritual cloth), late 19th century, Sarawak, Malaysia

India and the Himalayas 150 From the Mauryas to the Palas: The rise and fall of Buddhist art in India Sushma Jansari

Forewords The 523-year history of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML) is reflected in a rich and diverse cultural heritage that largely results from many generous benefactors entrusting us with their belongings across the centuries. This trust surely reinforces our duty to place these important bequests at the service of the community.

In this context, in 2017 SCML received, by donation, deposit and acquisition, the Asian art collection of Francisco Capelo. The artworks of Casa Ásia – Coleção Francisco Capelo can now be found at the Palace Portugal da Gama/São Roque in Bairro Alto, the historic Lisbon neigbourhood. Located in the cultural centre of São Roque, the Palace was renovated to receive and display the Asian art collection assembled by Francisco Capelo over a period of twenty years for the express purpose of public exhibition. Each artwork was selected according to precise criteria such as rarity, integrity, state of conservation and, last but not least, individual aesthetic value.

Including around 1300 objects, the collection presents a great diversity of artworks, with pieces dating from the third century bc to the beginning of the twentieth century and drawn from fourteen Asian countries spanning several geographic regions: India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, East Timor and the Philippines. The installation of this collection at SCML enables the viewer to establish a link with the Portuguese presence in Asia, expressed in both the Church and Museum of São Roque, most notably in the pictorial cycle of the sacristy and in the display of oriental art.

The Asian art collection that SCML has the privilege of exhibiting to the public stands alongside those of prestigious international museums. It also makes a major contribution to the cultural offer of Lisbon, adding to its dynamic in terms of tourism and the economy. The collection provides an important tool for the community to learn or increase their knowledge about the cultures of ancient Asia. In a city such as Lisbon, which is open to the world and embraces so many communities of diverse origins, this museum offers an opportunity to value them and is a way of achieving greater cohesion. It enables an informed contact with these different cultures, highlighting both their individuality and their centuries-old relationship with Portuguese culture, thereby promoting integration and education for citizenship.

The cultural centre of São Roque, where past and future meet, is a vibrant place for questioning the role of the individual and the world(s) in which he or she lives. It comprises the Church and Museum of São Roque, the Historical Archive, the Library and the Brotéria Cultural Centre of the Jesuits, and is now greatly enriched

by Casa Ásia – Coleção Francisco Capelo.

Edmundo Martinho Chairman, Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa

9

Forewords The 523-year history of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML) is reflected in a rich and diverse cultural heritage that largely results from many generous benefactors entrusting us with their belongings across the centuries. This trust surely reinforces our duty to place these important bequests at the service of the community.

In this context, in 2017 SCML received, by donation, deposit and acquisition, the Asian art collection of Francisco Capelo. The artworks of Casa Ásia – Coleção Francisco Capelo can now be found at the Palace Portugal da Gama/São Roque in Bairro Alto, the historic Lisbon neigbourhood. Located in the cultural centre of São Roque, the Palace was renovated to receive and display the Asian art collection assembled by Francisco Capelo over a period of twenty years for the express purpose of public exhibition. Each artwork was selected according to precise criteria such as rarity, integrity, state of conservation and, last but not least, individual aesthetic value.

Including around 1300 objects, the collection presents a great diversity of artworks, with pieces dating from the third century bc to the beginning of the twentieth century and drawn from fourteen Asian countries spanning several geographic regions: India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, East Timor and the Philippines. The installation of this collection at SCML enables the viewer to establish a link with the Portuguese presence in Asia, expressed in both the Church and Museum of São Roque, most notably in the pictorial cycle of the sacristy and in the display of oriental art.

The Asian art collection that SCML has the privilege of exhibiting to the public stands alongside those of prestigious international museums. It also makes a major contribution to the cultural offer of Lisbon, adding to its dynamic in terms of tourism and the economy. The collection provides an important tool for the community to learn or increase their knowledge about the cultures of ancient Asia. In a city such as Lisbon, which is open to the world and embraces so many communities of diverse origins, this museum offers an opportunity to value them and is a way of achieving greater cohesion. It enables an informed contact with these different cultures, highlighting both their individuality and their centuries-old relationship with Portuguese culture, thereby promoting integration and education for citizenship.

The cultural centre of São Roque, where past and future meet, is a vibrant place for questioning the role of the individual and the world(s) in which he or she lives. It comprises the Church and Museum of São Roque, the Historical Archive, the Library and the Brotéria Cultural Centre of the Jesuits, and is now greatly enriched

by Casa Ásia – Coleção Francisco Capelo.

Edmundo Martinho Chairman, Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa

9

Preface Once upon a time: The tale of a Collection Francisco Capelo

For me collecting has always been a great anchor, the most wonderful and never-ending source of adventure, new encounters and experiences.

Inspired by the centuries-long connection between Portugal and Asia, in 1999 I made a journey to Asia which marked the beginning of two decades through which I collected Asian art. Today the collection I have amassed is rich and comprises 1300 works of art, covering a wide variety of media that pertain to many historical periods and the countries of South, East and South-East Asia.

From its beginning the Collection was created with the objective of educating Portuguese audiences about the ‘real’ Asia and not simply the Portuguese encounter with the continent. It was also my intention to have this Collection become public and have its artworks permanently displayed to the public with the opening of a ‘Casa Ásia’ in Lisbon.

After several failed attempts to find a suitable home for the Collection, in 2017 – under unexpected but auspicious circumstances – the dream became true. An agreement was signed by myself, the Collector, and the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, a five-century-old charitable institution. By this agreement the Francisco Capelo Collection was donated and deposited by the collector (three-quarters) and in part acquired by Santa Casa (one-quarter). It was also agreed that the Collection would be housed in an eighteenth-century palace in Lisbon’s historic centre and permanently opened to the public as Casa Ásia – Coleção Francisco Capelo. This book illustrates and presents 232 works of art selected from the Francisco Capelo Collection, enriched with insightful introductory essays by several eminent art historians and scholars who specialise in the study of Asia.

The long intellectual journey of collecting and studying these works has been a most pleasant and rewarding personal adventure. It began in Ethiopia. In medieval Europe, it was believed that Ethiopia was next to India and that this kingdom was governed by a fabled and powerful Indian ruler, a Nestorian Christian named Prester John. In mid-fifteenth-century Portugal, the search for the lands of Prester John was an important rallying cry for those voyaging to India and China by sea. In my travels through the many cultures of Asia, and being a Portuguese collector, I chose Ethiopia as my first stop out of deference to this forgotten and compelling tradition.

From Ethiopia we jump to Japan, whose culture developed through successive waves of ideas and artefacts imported from continental Asia. However, these foreign influences were always assimilated without destruction of the indigenous culture; both the new and traditions of the past co-existed and developed without erasing each other. This characteristic makes Japan a most auspicious and enlightening place to start our Asian travels.

12

13

Preface Once upon a time: The tale of a Collection Francisco Capelo

For me collecting has always been a great anchor, the most wonderful and never-ending source of adventure, new encounters and experiences.

Inspired by the centuries-long connection between Portugal and Asia, in 1999 I made a journey to Asia which marked the beginning of two decades through which I collected Asian art. Today the collection I have amassed is rich and comprises 1300 works of art, covering a wide variety of media that pertain to many historical periods and the countries of South, East and South-East Asia.

From its beginning the Collection was created with the objective of educating Portuguese audiences about the ‘real’ Asia and not simply the Portuguese encounter with the continent. It was also my intention to have this Collection become public and have its artworks permanently displayed to the public with the opening of a ‘Casa Ásia’ in Lisbon.

After several failed attempts to find a suitable home for the Collection, in 2017 – under unexpected but auspicious circumstances – the dream became true. An agreement was signed by myself, the Collector, and the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, a five-century-old charitable institution. By this agreement the Francisco Capelo Collection was donated and deposited by the collector (three-quarters) and in part acquired by Santa Casa (one-quarter). It was also agreed that the Collection would be housed in an eighteenth-century palace in Lisbon’s historic centre and permanently opened to the public as Casa Ásia – Coleção Francisco Capelo. This book illustrates and presents 232 works of art selected from the Francisco Capelo Collection, enriched with insightful introductory essays by several eminent art historians and scholars who specialise in the study of Asia.

The long intellectual journey of collecting and studying these works has been a most pleasant and rewarding personal adventure. It began in Ethiopia. In medieval Europe, it was believed that Ethiopia was next to India and that this kingdom was governed by a fabled and powerful Indian ruler, a Nestorian Christian named Prester John. In mid-fifteenth-century Portugal, the search for the lands of Prester John was an important rallying cry for those voyaging to India and China by sea. In my travels through the many cultures of Asia, and being a Portuguese collector, I chose Ethiopia as my first stop out of deference to this forgotten and compelling tradition.

From Ethiopia we jump to Japan, whose culture developed through successive waves of ideas and artefacts imported from continental Asia. However, these foreign influences were always assimilated without destruction of the indigenous culture; both the new and traditions of the past co-existed and developed without erasing each other. This characteristic makes Japan a most auspicious and enlightening place to start our Asian travels.

12

13

1. Large processional cross Bronze with traces of gold Lalibela style 15th century Ethiopia Height: 50.7 cm CA-CFC.865

Ethiopia The myth of Prester John: Early European imaginings of the Orient Manuel João Ramos

What strange reason led ancient Abyssinia to be identified by European cosmographers of the late Middle Ages, and later by Portuguese navigators at the beginning of the sixteenth century, as the ‘kingdom of Prester John of the Indies’? Abyssinia was the name by which the Christian kingdom that for many centuries dominated the highlands of the north of Ethiopia was known. Medieval European geographical conceptions, influenced by Aristotelian physics, conceived that the oecumena (the non-submerged and habitable part of the terrestrial sphere) had a generically circular shape and was divided into three great regions: Asia, Europe and Africa. The last two were separated by the Mediterranean Sea, and Asia was the whole territory stretching eastward beyond two great rivers, the Danube and the Nile, which were identified with two of the four rivers that, according to the Bible, flowed from Eden: the Thanais and the Ghion, respectively.

As a result of this delimitation, partly inspired by the course of the Nile, the African continent was thus divided longitudinally, from south to north, between a western region (which classical cosmographers had designated as Hesperia) and an eastern part bordering the Red Sea. The latter neighboured the south-western zone of Asia, i.e. the Indian subcontinent. As a result of this geographical distortion, Abyssinia was thought to occupy an immense territory next to India and came to be known as the ‘Third India’, or ‘post-Gangetic’ India. Being the source of the Nile, and close to Paradise, this region escaped the curse of the descendants of Ham (the estranged son of Noah), which biblical interpreters associated with the African populations to the south and the west.

The ethical and apocalyptic foundations of such a conception must be taken into account. The expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise, which Christian cosmography located at the eastern end of Asia, served as a support for a cosmological vision in which the greater the distance (and the passage of years) from Eden, the more degenerated was the state of humanity. The death and resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem, the central point of the oecumena (or the navel of the world), offered the possibility of redemption to the peoples living in its westernmost parts. Thus the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Crusades to retake the Holy Land acquired a truly apocalyptic raison d’être: just as the first coming of the Son of God to earth had allowed the reversal of the original sin and the possibility to redress the degeneracy of the world, the march to the East offered the remission of sins and foreshadowed the Millennium, the second coming of Christ and Judgement Day. It was in the years preceding the Third Crusade (the Kings’ Crusade, 1189–92) that an enigmatic Letter of Prester John of the Indies began circulating in Europe, announcing that a marvellous Christian sovereign in the East, simultaneously a king and a priest (a presbyter), offered an alliance against the Muslims to reconquer the Holy Land. In the two centuries that followed the relative disaster of that war (as the Crusader armies did not 23

1. Large processional cross Bronze with traces of gold Lalibela style 15th century Ethiopia Height: 50.7 cm CA-CFC.865

Ethiopia The myth of Prester John: Early European imaginings of the Orient Manuel João Ramos

What strange reason led ancient Abyssinia to be identified by European cosmographers of the late Middle Ages, and later by Portuguese navigators at the beginning of the sixteenth century, as the ‘kingdom of Prester John of the Indies’? Abyssinia was the name by which the Christian kingdom that for many centuries dominated the highlands of the north of Ethiopia was known. Medieval European geographical conceptions, influenced by Aristotelian physics, conceived that the oecumena (the non-submerged and habitable part of the terrestrial sphere) had a generically circular shape and was divided into three great regions: Asia, Europe and Africa. The last two were separated by the Mediterranean Sea, and Asia was the whole territory stretching eastward beyond two great rivers, the Danube and the Nile, which were identified with two of the four rivers that, according to the Bible, flowed from Eden: the Thanais and the Ghion, respectively.

As a result of this delimitation, partly inspired by the course of the Nile, the African continent was thus divided longitudinally, from south to north, between a western region (which classical cosmographers had designated as Hesperia) and an eastern part bordering the Red Sea. The latter neighboured the south-western zone of Asia, i.e. the Indian subcontinent. As a result of this geographical distortion, Abyssinia was thought to occupy an immense territory next to India and came to be known as the ‘Third India’, or ‘post-Gangetic’ India. Being the source of the Nile, and close to Paradise, this region escaped the curse of the descendants of Ham (the estranged son of Noah), which biblical interpreters associated with the African populations to the south and the west.

The ethical and apocalyptic foundations of such a conception must be taken into account. The expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise, which Christian cosmography located at the eastern end of Asia, served as a support for a cosmological vision in which the greater the distance (and the passage of years) from Eden, the more degenerated was the state of humanity. The death and resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem, the central point of the oecumena (or the navel of the world), offered the possibility of redemption to the peoples living in its westernmost parts. Thus the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Crusades to retake the Holy Land acquired a truly apocalyptic raison d’être: just as the first coming of the Son of God to earth had allowed the reversal of the original sin and the possibility to redress the degeneracy of the world, the march to the East offered the remission of sins and foreshadowed the Millennium, the second coming of Christ and Judgement Day. It was in the years preceding the Third Crusade (the Kings’ Crusade, 1189–92) that an enigmatic Letter of Prester John of the Indies began circulating in Europe, announcing that a marvellous Christian sovereign in the East, simultaneously a king and a priest (a presbyter), offered an alliance against the Muslims to reconquer the Holy Land. In the two centuries that followed the relative disaster of that war (as the Crusader armies did not 23

10. Scenes in and around the capital (Rakuchu Rakugaizu) Six-panel folding screen Ink, pigments, gold and gold leaf on paper Early 17th century, Momoyama–Edo period Japan Height: 171 cm, width: 376 cm CFC.70

10. Scenes in and around the capital (Rakuchu Rakugaizu) Six-panel folding screen Ink, pigments, gold and gold leaf on paper Early 17th century, Momoyama–Edo period Japan Height: 171 cm, width: 376 cm CFC.70

20. Water container

21. Dish

Stoneware with iron underglaze decoration Karatsu ware Late 16th century, Momoyama period Japan Diameter: 29.5 cm CA-CFC.421

Porcelain with enamel overglaze decoration Hizen ware, Aode Ko Kutani style c. 1660s, Edo period Japan Diameter: 35.5 cm CA-CFC.418

20. Water container

21. Dish

Stoneware with iron underglaze decoration Karatsu ware Late 16th century, Momoyama period Japan Diameter: 29.5 cm CA-CFC.421

Porcelain with enamel overglaze decoration Hizen ware, Aode Ko Kutani style c. 1660s, Edo period Japan Diameter: 35.5 cm CA-CFC.418

84. Lilies and cloud bands Three architectural panels Carved red sandstone Late 17th century, Mughal Delhi or Agra, India Height: 111 cm, width: 71.5 cm (left) Height: 110.5 cm, width: 73 cm (centre) Height: 122 cm, width: 71 cm (right) CA.CFC.1107.1/2/3

84. Lilies and cloud bands Three architectural panels Carved red sandstone Late 17th century, Mughal Delhi or Agra, India Height: 111 cm, width: 71.5 cm (left) Height: 110.5 cm, width: 73 cm (centre) Height: 122 cm, width: 71 cm (right) CA.CFC.1107.1/2/3

Opposite:

141. Manuscripts Thailand A: Ink, pigments and gold on paper Mid-18th century, Ayutthaya period Length: 62.5 cm CFC.85 B: Ink, pigments and gold on paper Second half of 18th century, Thonburi period, reign of Rama I Length: 68 cm CFC.86 C: Phra Malai. Ink, pigments and gold on paper Second half of 19th century, Rattanakosin period, reign of Rama V Length: 67 cm CA-CFC.889

On first encounter, a Western eye, accustomed to the linear perspective developed in the Renaissance, is often mesmerised and puzzled by these vast temple murals. Maybe the sense of wonder found in fairy tales is the best way to describe this feeling. In Europe, one would need to go back to the thirteenth or fourteenth century, the time of large Gothic altarpieces, to experience the same sense of enchantment.

Given that these vast murals evidently cannot be transported and displayed in a gallery, the Thai traditional arts of painting can only be appreciated in a museum context through moveable pieces. In Thailand the hard divisions which in Europe have long separated skills and media, and distinguished the fine arts from decorative or applied arts, simply do not apply. Mural painting, lacquer and gold painting on a piece of furniture, painting on cloth or paper, and compositions using mother-of-pearl inlay are all perceived as equally important art forms existing on the same aesthetic plane. What makes all of them equally relevant, and in a way comparable, is the fact that they all draw inspiration from common literary sources and express the same vision and similar modes of experience.

The many cabinets and chests commissioned and donated to the temples to house the books and manuscripts of the Buddhist faith are normally richly decorated with scenes and folk tales ‘painted’ in gold on black lacquer in a technique known as lai rot nam. This gold-leaf technique is explained elsewhere (p. 218). Viewing these sumptuous cabinets, or tu phra tham – literally, cabinets for storing the dharma (the Buddha’s teachings) – one witnesses the same stories, the same mythical creatures and magical plants, atmosphere and emotions as those conveyed by mural paintings.

The art of gold painting on black lacquer plays on the strong contrast between the two materials, using it to perform a similar role as tonal values in painting with pigment. Compositions tend to avoid large expanses without motifs and instead are conceived as richly detailed designs on busy and intricate backgrounds. Cat. 139 is one such gold-painted temple cabinet, assigned to the mid-eighteenth century by virtue of the style of its guardian figures and the nature of the background of its front and side panels. Known as lokapalas, the guardian figures act as protectors of the Buddhist faith and its followers. The background and sides of the cabinet are strongly influenced by the floral and animal motifs found in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Indo-Persian miniatures and carpets.

Commercial ties between Siam and Indo-Persian Muslims were particularly strong during the rule of King Prasat Thong (r. 1629–56) and even more so during that of King Narai (r. 1656–88). Muslim communities played an important role in the politics of the Siamese court at Ayutthaya until at least 1676. During this time Indo-Persian merchants settled in Siam and constructed palaces and other buildings, mainly in the city of Lopburi, that were reminiscent of those in Persia and the sultanate courts of the Deccan plateau in India.

The cabinet (cat. 140), dating from the early nineteenth century, had until recently a continuous royal provenance.

The gold painting and filigree-like carving on its stretchers are of the highest quality. The floral and animal motifs of the late Ayutthaya period, mid-seventeenth to mid-eighteenth century, and of Indo-Persian inspiration, were

266

Opposite:

141. Manuscripts Thailand A: Ink, pigments and gold on paper Mid-18th century, Ayutthaya period Length: 62.5 cm CFC.85 B: Ink, pigments and gold on paper Second half of 18th century, Thonburi period, reign of Rama I Length: 68 cm CFC.86 C: Phra Malai. Ink, pigments and gold on paper Second half of 19th century, Rattanakosin period, reign of Rama V Length: 67 cm CA-CFC.889

On first encounter, a Western eye, accustomed to the linear perspective developed in the Renaissance, is often mesmerised and puzzled by these vast temple murals. Maybe the sense of wonder found in fairy tales is the best way to describe this feeling. In Europe, one would need to go back to the thirteenth or fourteenth century, the time of large Gothic altarpieces, to experience the same sense of enchantment.

Given that these vast murals evidently cannot be transported and displayed in a gallery, the Thai traditional arts of painting can only be appreciated in a museum context through moveable pieces. In Thailand the hard divisions which in Europe have long separated skills and media, and distinguished the fine arts from decorative or applied arts, simply do not apply. Mural painting, lacquer and gold painting on a piece of furniture, painting on cloth or paper, and compositions using mother-of-pearl inlay are all perceived as equally important art forms existing on the same aesthetic plane. What makes all of them equally relevant, and in a way comparable, is the fact that they all draw inspiration from common literary sources and express the same vision and similar modes of experience.

The many cabinets and chests commissioned and donated to the temples to house the books and manuscripts of the Buddhist faith are normally richly decorated with scenes and folk tales ‘painted’ in gold on black lacquer in a technique known as lai rot nam. This gold-leaf technique is explained elsewhere (p. 218). Viewing these sumptuous cabinets, or tu phra tham – literally, cabinets for storing the dharma (the Buddha’s teachings) – one witnesses the same stories, the same mythical creatures and magical plants, atmosphere and emotions as those conveyed by mural paintings.

The art of gold painting on black lacquer plays on the strong contrast between the two materials, using it to perform a similar role as tonal values in painting with pigment. Compositions tend to avoid large expanses without motifs and instead are conceived as richly detailed designs on busy and intricate backgrounds. Cat. 139 is one such gold-painted temple cabinet, assigned to the mid-eighteenth century by virtue of the style of its guardian figures and the nature of the background of its front and side panels. Known as lokapalas, the guardian figures act as protectors of the Buddhist faith and its followers. The background and sides of the cabinet are strongly influenced by the floral and animal motifs found in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Indo-Persian miniatures and carpets.

Commercial ties between Siam and Indo-Persian Muslims were particularly strong during the rule of King Prasat Thong (r. 1629–56) and even more so during that of King Narai (r. 1656–88). Muslim communities played an important role in the politics of the Siamese court at Ayutthaya until at least 1676. During this time Indo-Persian merchants settled in Siam and constructed palaces and other buildings, mainly in the city of Lopburi, that were reminiscent of those in Persia and the sultanate courts of the Deccan plateau in India.

The cabinet (cat. 140), dating from the early nineteenth century, had until recently a continuous royal provenance.

The gold painting and filigree-like carving on its stretchers are of the highest quality. The floral and animal motifs of the late Ayutthaya period, mid-seventeenth to mid-eighteenth century, and of Indo-Persian inspiration, were

266

Opposite:

209. Pua kombu (ritual cloth)

210. Lola lola (a (armband and sacred heirloom)

Handspun cotton, natural dyes, warp ikat, weft twining Iban Early 20th century Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo) Length: 228 cm, width: 130 cm CA-CFC.1045

Gold, wood, semi-precious stones Kulawi and To’ subgroups Central and South Sulawesi, Indonesia Diameter: 17.5 cm CA-CFC.584

Opposite:

209. Pua kombu (ritual cloth)

210. Lola lola (a (armband and sacred heirloom)

Handspun cotton, natural dyes, warp ikat, weft twining Iban Early 20th century Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo) Length: 228 cm, width: 130 cm CA-CFC.1045

Gold, wood, semi-precious stones Kulawi and To’ subgroups Central and South Sulawesi, Indonesia Diameter: 17.5 cm CA-CFC.584