Research & Article

In this article, we describe two sets of wood panel paintings kept at Wat Ban Khong in Ratchaburi province. Dating from the Sixth Reign, the paintings are latter-day representatives of an older genre that formerly was popular in central Siam. They stand at the cusp of tradition and modernity, of the provincial and the urban. A polychrome set depicts the first nine of the Ten Jātakas, while a gilt lacquer set is devoted to the tenth and last, Vessantara or the Great Birth. Our aim is to bring these paintings to the attention and appreciation of the interested public. Space does not permit us to go into social and art-historical details or to compare conception and technique to the Jātaka paintings of the region or the capital. We hope that this presentation of visual culture will lead specialists to give more attention to the local paintings of the period.