Royal Siamese Maps - War and Trade in Nineteenth Century Thailand (Hardcover)

In 1996, 18 exquisite hand-drawn and hand-coloured cotton maps were discovered in the Grand Palace, Bangkok. These long-lost treasures record cartographically Siamese warfare and trade during the first three reigns of the Bangkok Period (1782-1851). Works of art in themselves, the maps are also full of historical and landscape detail so that they will become important primary sources for historians and geographers of Southeast Asia for years to come. This volume introduces these exciting discoveries to the general public and to scholars, antiquarians and cartographic historians. It provides a lively account of the finding, the dating, the cartographic characteristics and historical significance of these rare remnants of Siamese heritage.