Mythical bird creature (garuda), from a manuscript

Some Thai Buddhist manuscripts (see illustration at right) had blocks of text flanked by paintings of facing pairs of demigods and mythological figures. These figures did not relate to what was written but were understood to be paying homage to the sacred words.

The paintings shown here were once part of the same manuscript. Their sophisticated color schemes featuring muted pink and slate blue as well as smaller areas of more intense colors help art historians narrow their date. Also notable are the fineness and springy tautness of the linework, creating the elegantly barbed quality sought by Thai artists for representing jewelry, plumage, and floating flamelike ribbons.

Sadly, in the mid twentieth century antique dealers sometimes had illustrated manuscripts cut up so that individual paintings could be sold separately.