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Buddhism and Thai Art
Author(s) -
Chirapravati Pattaratorn
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
religion compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.113
H-Index - 1
ISSN - 1749-8171
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2009.00148.x
Subject(s) - buddhism , exhibition , relation (database) , history , architecture , art history , visual arts , cultural heritage , anthropology , art , sociology , archaeology , database , computer science
The last few years have been exciting for the field of Thai art history because of new archaeological discoveries and publications that have shed new light on several periods and subjects. New art history books range from highly technical books written for specialists like Hiram Woodward to less technical books, written by specialists, but for general readers, such as Betty Gosling's book The Origins of Thai Art , guidebooks written by specialists for a wide audience that includes scholars and educated tourists such as Dawn Rooney's book, Ancient Sukhothai: Thailand's Cultural Heritage , and art exhibition catalogues written by specialists for museum goers and scholars such as Forrest McGill's catalogue, The Kingdom of Siam: The Art of Central Thailand, 1350–1800 . New light has also been shed on the field of Buddhism in Thailand, scholars such as Peter Skilling, Steve Collions, Donald Swearer, Justin McDaniel, Leedom Lefferts, and Bonnie Brereton published new translations of texts, compiled dictionaries, and studied ritual practices in relations to texts and objects. At the same time, Buddhist scholars and anthropologists have incorporated Buddhist art and architecture in their studies of texts and rituals. This article will offer a critical overview of the relation between the study of art and Buddhism in Thailand.