Multimedia

In 1716, King August the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, purchased a container with what was described as a couple of Chinese paintings. In reality the content were two illustrations of the funeral procession of King Phetracha of Siam in 1704, one drawn by a highly skilled Thai artist, the other by a Dutchman who had little knowledge of Thai ritual.

On a scroll over 370 cm long, the Thai artist drew the procession of King Phetracha’s corpse from the palace to the cremation ground in December 1704. This is one of the earliest works of Siamese illustration with a secure date. It has not been seen for almost three centuries. And the drawing is exquisite. In this lecture, Professor Terwiel explains the ritual of the royal cremation, and draw attention to the contemporary artistic conventions.