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Source Description
Hermits in old Thai culture were credited with special powers achieved during their yogic practices. These aerobic postures were believed effective treatments for various ailments. This manuscript was commissioned by King Rama III to accompany 80 life-size tin and zinc sculptures depicting hermits in exercise positions at the royal temple of Wat Pho, Bangkok. Beginning on folio 3, each of the eighty hermits is depicted in the upper half of the opening, with Thai verse and prose text written in Thai script beneath, in gold, on a red ground. Each hermit is sensitively painted on a simple background sometimes including animals, architecture, spiritual being, and other figures. The illustrations and text are framed with painted borders closely relating to textile patterns of the period.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
24085
label
The Book of the Eighty Rishis
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
24085
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
The Book of the Eighty Rishis
description
Hermits in old Thai culture were credited with special powers achieved during their yogic practices. These aerobic postures were believed effective treatments for various ailments. This manuscript was commissioned by King Rama III to accompany 80 life-size tin and zinc sculptures depicting hermits in exercise positions at the royal temple of Wat Pho, Bangkok. Beginning on folio 3, each of the eighty hermits is depicted in the upper half of the opening, with Thai verse and prose text written in Thai script beneath, in gold, on a red ground. Each hermit is sensitively painted on a simple background sometimes including animals, architecture, spiritual being, and other figures. The illustrations and text are framed with painted borders closely relating to textile patterns of the period.
provenance
Mr. Yoshie Shinomoto, Monkton, MD [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1993, by gift.
date
1838
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
folding book manuscript
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
15.5
height
39
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 6 1/8 x 15 3/8 in. (15.5 x 39 cm)
Source extras
med
Black lacquer cover with gold
creator_ids
2501
collection_ids
none
exhibition_ids
945
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
a3e076e8a3070a62