Phra Malai and Other Buddhist Texts

This accordion-fold Thai manuscript is dated Buddhist Era 2334 on opening B38, equivalent to 1791 CE (early Bangkok period, the reign of King Rama I). The month and the day are also stated, and possibly the name of the scribe and the artist or artists. The text is in Cambodian thin script and consists of the "Seven Tamnan," or seven extracts from the Abhidhamma, in the Pali language. The repertory of illustrations is similar to that of a famous late-Ayutthaya period manuscript, at Wat Hua Krabü (or Wat Sisa Krabü), Bangkok, dated equivalent to 1734. Its text consists of the seven extracts from the Abhidhamma, in thick Cambodian script. (Thin Cambodian script generally replaced the thick script around the last quarter of the 19th century.) The style of the painting in the manuscript can be traced back to that of Wat Hua Krabü. (This is illustrated in full in the book Samut Khoi, by Khrongkan Supsan Moradok Watthanatham Thai pp. 318-55.) In general, the "illustrations" serve as decorations for the text rather than directly depicting the textual content. There are some exceptions, as in opening B22: Meditations on Corpses. DESCRIPTION NEEDS TO BE UPDATED.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Konrad and Sarah M. Bekker, Arlington, Virginia, 1950 - 1969. Sale, Sloans & Kenyon, Chevy Chase, Maryland, September 20, 2013, no. 354; purchased by Dr. Hiram W. Woodward, Jr., 2013; purchased by the Walters Art Museum, 2014.