- Department of History of Art and Archaeology
School of the Arts https/www.soas.ac.uk/art/
SOAS, University of London
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
FULL PAPER AVAILABLE HERE; https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1msswd0.8 https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1msswd0.8 In a Southeast Asian context, a sīmā on land is often demarcated by a set of boundary stones usually referred to as sīmā... more
FULL PAPER AVAILABLE HERE;
https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1msswd0.8
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1msswd0.8
In a Southeast Asian context, a sīmā on land is often demarcated by a set of boundary stones usually referred to as sīmā stones. In modern-day Thailand for example, a set of eight sīmā stones are placed around an ubosot (originally from Pāli uposatha, meaning “ordination hall”), either singularly or in pairs (therefore amounting to sixteen sīmā stones in total). Once this formal procedure has been correctly carried out, the area is then deemed sacred and the requisite ceremonies can take place within it.1 Where and when this particular method of demarking sīmā with boundary stones arose and its subsequent development over time is the subject of this chapter. In Thailand, these stones are usually referred to as sema or baisema. Sema (เสมา) is actually a vulgarization of the Pāli term sīmā, while bai (ใบ) means “leaf.”2 Baisema (ใบเสมา), therefore generally refers to the shape of the predominant slab type sema, particularly from the Ayutthaya period onward. While the majority of examples in this chapter are from what is today Thailand, in the interests of consistency this chapter shall use the term sīmā stones throughout while also acknowledging the varying terminology used throughout Southeast Asia for these objects.
https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1msswd0.8
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1msswd0.8
In a Southeast Asian context, a sīmā on land is often demarcated by a set of boundary stones usually referred to as sīmā stones. In modern-day Thailand for example, a set of eight sīmā stones are placed around an ubosot (originally from Pāli uposatha, meaning “ordination hall”), either singularly or in pairs (therefore amounting to sixteen sīmā stones in total). Once this formal procedure has been correctly carried out, the area is then deemed sacred and the requisite ceremonies can take place within it.1 Where and when this particular method of demarking sīmā with boundary stones arose and its subsequent development over time is the subject of this chapter. In Thailand, these stones are usually referred to as sema or baisema. Sema (เสมา) is actually a vulgarization of the Pāli term sīmā, while bai (ใบ) means “leaf.”2 Baisema (ใบเสมา), therefore generally refers to the shape of the predominant slab type sema, particularly from the Ayutthaya period onward. While the majority of examples in this chapter are from what is today Thailand, in the interests of consistency this chapter shall use the term sīmā stones throughout while also acknowledging the varying terminology used throughout Southeast Asia for these objects.
Research Interests:
From 15 January to 1 March 2015 Singaporean artist Jimmy Ong staged the solo exhibition {The History of Java} at FOST Gallery, Singapore. The show consisted of five large-scale, figurative charcoal drawings – a signature medium for the... more
From 15 January to 1 March 2015 Singaporean artist Jimmy Ong staged the solo exhibition {The History of Java} at FOST Gallery, Singapore. The show consisted of five large-scale, figurative charcoal drawings – a signature medium for the artist. All but one of them dealt in some shape or form with the figure of Stamford Raffles. Through these works Ong delved deep into the histories of both Singapore and Java, re-imagining and reinterpreting a variety of scenes and settings, often blurring the boundaries between the historical and the fictional. This show was a culmination of many years of similar artistic encounters. Ong had been interweaving historical and narrative aspects into his work from at least 2000. This process also governed his next exhibition at FOST Gallery,
From Bukit Larangan to Borobudur: Recent Drawings by Jimmy Ong 2000–2015 (14 May–26 June 2016), which was organised in conjunction with the launch of the book of the same name. It displayed selected works in private collections, some which had never before been seen in a public exhibition. Raffles appears in a number of these works, with Ong often using him as an avatar to explore both the historic and the personal. This allows him to inhabit and subvert both conventional portrayals and the historical space and time of this colonial figure.4 In doing so, Ong re-imagines, re-presents, and undermines received ideas about Raffles and, by extension, British colonialism, in ways that are more personal but perhaps also more powerful than text-based postcolonial critiques often do. This paper explores this, and Ong’s practice in general, by looking at selected works from his career spanning 2000 to 2019.
Purchase full book here
Print version:
https://readabook.store/products/9789811816680
Ebook:
https://readabook.store/products/9789811839856
From Bukit Larangan to Borobudur: Recent Drawings by Jimmy Ong 2000–2015 (14 May–26 June 2016), which was organised in conjunction with the launch of the book of the same name. It displayed selected works in private collections, some which had never before been seen in a public exhibition. Raffles appears in a number of these works, with Ong often using him as an avatar to explore both the historic and the personal. This allows him to inhabit and subvert both conventional portrayals and the historical space and time of this colonial figure.4 In doing so, Ong re-imagines, re-presents, and undermines received ideas about Raffles and, by extension, British colonialism, in ways that are more personal but perhaps also more powerful than text-based postcolonial critiques often do. This paper explores this, and Ong’s practice in general, by looking at selected works from his career spanning 2000 to 2019.
Purchase full book here
Print version:
https://readabook.store/products/9789811816680
Ebook:
https://readabook.store/products/9789811839856
Research Interests:
This essay situates Raffles, the Southeast Asian region, and the ACM within the larger decolonial debates taking place worldwide at present. In doing so it explores the colonial creation of knowledge, how that knowledge was used, misused,... more
This essay situates Raffles, the Southeast Asian region, and the ACM within the larger decolonial debates taking place worldwide at present. In doing so it explores the colonial creation of knowledge, how that knowledge was used, misused, and oft times misunderstood, and the implications thereof. It examines to what extent decolonisation has
taken place within the region and asks whether museums and other institutions can decolonise from within. And if so, how this can be done. Finally, it looks at issues of contested histories and asks, what now for Raffles and his ilk?
Purchase full book at:
Print version:
https://readabook.store/products/9789811816680
Ebook:
https://readabook.store/products/9789811839856
taken place within the region and asks whether museums and other institutions can decolonise from within. And if so, how this can be done. Finally, it looks at issues of contested histories and asks, what now for Raffles and his ilk?
Purchase full book at:
Print version:
https://readabook.store/products/9789811816680
Ebook:
https://readabook.store/products/9789811839856
Research Interests:
In 2015, the NSC Archaeology Unit and APSARA National Authority conducted archaeological research at two sema stone sites in Cambodia. Further support was provided by the Asian Civilisations Museum. The sema stone sites, Peam Kre and Don... more
In 2015, the NSC Archaeology Unit and APSARA National Authority conducted archaeological research at two sema stone sites in Cambodia. Further support was provided by the Asian Civilisations Museum. The sema stone sites, Peam Kre and Don Meas, are located adjacent to the Banteay site atop Phnom Kulen (Kulen Mountain; Mahendraparvata) in the Angkorian homeland at Siem Reap. Phnom Kulen is widely considered to be the holy mountain and birthplace of the Angkorian Empire under the reign of Jayavarman II—a Saivite king—where he first orchestrated the renowned devaraja ritual in 802 CE. The ritual has critical symbolic and political importance.
Research Interests:
The Southeast Asia that the Tang Shipwreck encountered along its voyage to and from China was a patchwork of vibrant, diverse cultures. In Cambodia, the Angkorian Empire was in its formative stages while in Sumatra the maritime power,... more
The Southeast Asia that the Tang Shipwreck encountered
along its voyage to and from China was a patchwork of vibrant,
diverse cultures. In Cambodia, the Angkorian Empire was
in its formative stages while in Sumatra the maritime power,
Srivijaya, commanded the seas. On the island of Java, Borobudur,
a monumental feat of Buddhist architecture, stood as testament
to the might of the Sailendra dynasty. In Thailand and Myanmar,
powerful cities were emerging. It is into this world that the Tang
Shipwreck sailed – and ultimately sank – on its journey from
China back to the Persian Gulf, in the middle of the ninth century.
We cannot say for certain at how many of ports the Tang
Shipwreck docked. However, it is not unrealistic to imagine
the ship sojourning in at least some of those discussed here, and
exchanging goods, money, and ideas with the peoples it met along
its journey. Ninth-century Southeast Asia was a place of vibrant
commerce and bustling ports, and to this day, remains an integral
part of international maritime trade.
along its voyage to and from China was a patchwork of vibrant,
diverse cultures. In Cambodia, the Angkorian Empire was
in its formative stages while in Sumatra the maritime power,
Srivijaya, commanded the seas. On the island of Java, Borobudur,
a monumental feat of Buddhist architecture, stood as testament
to the might of the Sailendra dynasty. In Thailand and Myanmar,
powerful cities were emerging. It is into this world that the Tang
Shipwreck sailed – and ultimately sank – on its journey from
China back to the Persian Gulf, in the middle of the ninth century.
We cannot say for certain at how many of ports the Tang
Shipwreck docked. However, it is not unrealistic to imagine
the ship sojourning in at least some of those discussed here, and
exchanging goods, money, and ideas with the peoples it met along
its journey. Ninth-century Southeast Asia was a place of vibrant
commerce and bustling ports, and to this day, remains an integral
part of international maritime trade.
Research Interests:
Sometime in the middle of the ninth century, a ship set sail on a voyage that would take it from the Persian Gulf to the Pacific Ocean. It was a journey that connected two empires, the Abbasid Caliphate (in modern-day Iran and Iraq) and... more
Sometime in the middle of the ninth century, a ship set sail
on a voyage that would take it from the Persian Gulf to the
Pacific Ocean. It was a journey that connected two empires, the
Abbasid Caliphate (in modern-day Iran and Iraq) and Tang
dynasty China, as well as many different cultures in India and
Southeast Asia along the way.
The Tang Shipwreck survives as a snapshot of the world of the ninth century. Locked in time for over a millennium at the bottom of the Java Sea, its discovery has opened up new vistas in our understanding of just how interconnected the cultures of Asia really were. Mass-produced Chinese ceramics moved westwards, exotic Southeast Asia forest products were sought in China, while spices from the Moluccas were shipped to ports far and wide. From the Middle East, cobalt, essential for blue-glazed ceramics, olive oil, and wine, as well as glass were most likely part of the cargoes that Arab and Persian traders brought with them on their outbound journeys. As these myriad goods and products flowed back and forth along the Indian Ocean and South China Sea, so too did Arabs, Persians, Chinese, Indians, and Southeast Asians mingle at the ports along the way. Here they bartered, traded, and, as the Tang Shipwreck appears to show, sailed together, all in the age-old pursuit of profit.
on a voyage that would take it from the Persian Gulf to the
Pacific Ocean. It was a journey that connected two empires, the
Abbasid Caliphate (in modern-day Iran and Iraq) and Tang
dynasty China, as well as many different cultures in India and
Southeast Asia along the way.
The Tang Shipwreck survives as a snapshot of the world of the ninth century. Locked in time for over a millennium at the bottom of the Java Sea, its discovery has opened up new vistas in our understanding of just how interconnected the cultures of Asia really were. Mass-produced Chinese ceramics moved westwards, exotic Southeast Asia forest products were sought in China, while spices from the Moluccas were shipped to ports far and wide. From the Middle East, cobalt, essential for blue-glazed ceramics, olive oil, and wine, as well as glass were most likely part of the cargoes that Arab and Persian traders brought with them on their outbound journeys. As these myriad goods and products flowed back and forth along the Indian Ocean and South China Sea, so too did Arabs, Persians, Chinese, Indians, and Southeast Asians mingle at the ports along the way. Here they bartered, traded, and, as the Tang Shipwreck appears to show, sailed together, all in the age-old pursuit of profit.
Research Interests: Maritime Archaeology, Indian Ocean History, Southeast Asian Archaeology, Ceramics (Art History), Ceramics (Archaeology), and 7 moreMaritime Trade Ceramics (Archaeology), Ancient Shipwrecks, Indian Ocean Archaeology, Chinese and Southeast Asian Art History and Archaeology, Chinese art history, Historic Shipwrecks/ Conservation of Marine Artifacts, and Chinese Art history and archaeology
In the early 1830s and 1840s, a British colonial official by the name of Colonel James Low uncovered evidence for an early culture with Indic traits in a river system known as the Bujang Valley. On the west coast of the Thai-Malay... more
In the early 1830s and 1840s, a British colonial official by the name of Colonel James Low uncovered evidence for an early culture with Indic traits in a river system known as the Bujang Valley. On the west coast of the Thai-Malay peninsula, the Bujang Valley is today located in the Malaysian state of Kedah. However, it wasn't until just before World War II that excavations took place, conducted by H. G. Quaritch Wales and his wife Dorothy. Their discoveries and subsequent publications led to the first real attempts to explain the origins and extent of this civilisation and its place within the larger South and Southeast Asian world. In the intervening years between Quaritch Wales's excavations and the present day, considerably more research has taken place within the Bujang Valley, though this has not been without controversy. Recently claims and counter-claims regarding the antiquity of Hinduism and Buddhism at the site have arisen in some quarters within Malaysia. It therefore seems pertinent that this material be re-evaluated in light of new scholarship and discoveries as well as the prevailing paradigms of interactions between South and Southeast Asia. This paper presents an updated reading of this material and argues that the Bujang Valley should be seen as a cosmopolitan trading port with substantive evidence for the presence of Hinduism and Buddhism.
Research Interests:
This paper employs “globalization” theory, dynamically incorporating space and time, geography and history, to challenge the notion that the development of Southeast Asian cultures along the global sea-faring arc between India and China... more
This paper employs “globalization” theory, dynamically incorporating space and time, geography and history, to challenge the notion that the development of Southeast Asian cultures along the global sea-faring arc between India and China can be best explained by constructing narratives derived from these major civilisations. The archaeological record shows a complex inventory of contacts and exchanges of goods and ideas from China and India intersecting in Southeast Asia. While globally-based trade and religion were formative, the region’s indigenous resources and cultures not only provided attractive destinations and way-stations, but also molded non-native inputs to the dynamics of already extant socio-cultural systems. The arrival of Buddhism and Brahmanism on Southeast Asian shores is framed within this context and four regions are selected to highlight these processes: the Pyu in Myanmar, Dvaravati in Thailand, the Thai-Malay peninsula, and Pre-Angkorian Cambodia from the mid-first millennium CE onwards. Southeast Asians successfully managed the twin processes of globalization and localism, adapting Buddhist and Brahmanical practices to suit their situations. These fusions facilitated transformations of Southeast Asian societies, setting them on trajectories leading to the formation of fully fledged, unique Buddhist and Brahmanical states such as Angkor in Cambodia, Bagan in Myanmar, and Sukhothai in Thailand.
Research Interests:
The mid-first millennium CE represents a crucial period in the emergence of early polities in Southeast Asia. However, disagreement remains between archaeologists and art historians as to the precise dating of this shift from prehistory... more
The mid-first millennium CE represents a crucial period in the emergence of early polities in Southeast Asia. However, disagreement remains between archaeologists and art historians as to the precise dating of this shift from prehistory to history. This article focuses on the Dvaravati period and re-evaluates evidence in Thai and Western language publications. A growing number of sites excavated over the past two decades in particular show occupation from c. the fourth to fifth century onwards while others provide a continual sequence stretching back well into the Iron Age. I argue that evidence from these sites makes a strong case for postulating a proto-Dvaravati period spanning c. the fourth to fifth centuries. In doing so this article proposes this period as the timeframe within which the nascent traits and characteristics of what becomes Dvaravati in the seventh to ninth centuries are present and gradually developing.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This piece reviews the six volumes of "The Origins of the Civilization of Angkor" The volumes are the result of more than twenty years of archaeological research in north-east Thailand, focusing specifically on the Mun Valley region and... more
This piece reviews the six volumes of "The Origins of the Civilization of Angkor" The volumes are the result of more than
twenty years of archaeological research in north-east Thailand, focusing specifically on the Mun Valley region and incorporating both survey and excavation techniques.I will limit my review to a summary of the volumes and a discussion of their overall conclusions. After this I will give my opinion on the impact that the volumes and the The Origins of the Civilization of Angkor project have had on both Thai prehistory and the practice of south-east Asian archaeology in general.
twenty years of archaeological research in north-east Thailand, focusing specifically on the Mun Valley region and incorporating both survey and excavation techniques.I will limit my review to a summary of the volumes and a discussion of their overall conclusions. After this I will give my opinion on the impact that the volumes and the The Origins of the Civilization of Angkor project have had on both Thai prehistory and the practice of south-east Asian archaeology in general.
Research Interests:
This article explores a number of ways in which to reconstruct the possible extent of monastic Buddhism in the Khorat Plateau during the Dvaravati period. In an attempt to so, it is consequently multidisciplinary in its conception, being... more
This article explores a number of ways in which to reconstruct the possible extent of monastic Buddhism in the Khorat Plateau during the Dvaravati period. In an attempt to so, it is consequently multidisciplinary in its conception, being primarily archaeological while also drawing on areas of anthropology, art history, demographics and Buddhist studies. In doing so, it attempts to move beyond the sole analysis of archaeological
and art historic objects in order to investigate the social, demographic and geographical factors that lie behind the production of these artefacts. It proposes to do so by a number of quantitative means: first, by giving hypothetical population estimates of urban centres/moated sites during the Dvaravati period and consequently the number of monks these settlements could have supported. These estimates are then used to consider how many monks may have been sustained according to these figures. Second, by carrying out a quantitative analysis of sema stone numbers and their distribution throughout the Khorat Plateau this also provides a method to calculate the number of possible consecrated spaces (viz., sīma) in the region and their geographic extent. The analysis shows that institutional, monastic Buddhism primarily spread and settled along the major river systems throughout the region. Third, by plotting the distribution, quantity
and quality of Buddhist narrative artwork on sema to pinpoint the locations of possible workshops and centres. This also allows for a number of conclusions to be drawn in terms of the socio-economic support needed to develop and maintain workshops and craftsmen and relates directly to population densities. It should, however, be stated at the outset that this paper proposes nothing more than a possible scenario to aid in explaining and understanding the extent and spread of Buddhism during this period. Therefore, I adopt the term “scenario” over “model” to emphasize the fact that what is being proposed here is an interpretive framework as opposed to a testable hypothesis in the strictly scientific sense.
and art historic objects in order to investigate the social, demographic and geographical factors that lie behind the production of these artefacts. It proposes to do so by a number of quantitative means: first, by giving hypothetical population estimates of urban centres/moated sites during the Dvaravati period and consequently the number of monks these settlements could have supported. These estimates are then used to consider how many monks may have been sustained according to these figures. Second, by carrying out a quantitative analysis of sema stone numbers and their distribution throughout the Khorat Plateau this also provides a method to calculate the number of possible consecrated spaces (viz., sīma) in the region and their geographic extent. The analysis shows that institutional, monastic Buddhism primarily spread and settled along the major river systems throughout the region. Third, by plotting the distribution, quantity
and quality of Buddhist narrative artwork on sema to pinpoint the locations of possible workshops and centres. This also allows for a number of conclusions to be drawn in terms of the socio-economic support needed to develop and maintain workshops and craftsmen and relates directly to population densities. It should, however, be stated at the outset that this paper proposes nothing more than a possible scenario to aid in explaining and understanding the extent and spread of Buddhism during this period. Therefore, I adopt the term “scenario” over “model” to emphasize the fact that what is being proposed here is an interpretive framework as opposed to a testable hypothesis in the strictly scientific sense.
Research Interests:
This article employs the research paradigm of historical ecology to investigate the spread and development of early Buddhism in the Khorat Plateau during the Dvaravati period. The movement of this religion into the region was largely... more
This article employs the research paradigm of historical ecology to investigate the spread and development of early Buddhism in the Khorat Plateau during the Dvaravati period. The movement of this religion into the region was largely determined by preexisting settlement patterns, with moated sites being particularly important. The arrival of Buddhism also introduced monumental architecture and a definable art style. These moated settlements were dependent on large-scale river systems such as the Mun and Chi, particularly in regard to water management, agriculture, transport, and communication. A study of the distribution of sema stones also provides evidence for the spread of Buddhism, while Buddha images carved into rock faces on mountaintops and evidence for rock shelters illustrate that the tradition of forest monks was functioning alongside the more established urban monasticism. The relationship between Buddhism and society is explored, illustrating how the arrival of this religion resulted in new cognitive and physical conceptions of the landscape best demonstrated by changes in settlement planning. Finally, it is shown that Buddhism did not function outside of society but existed in an interdependent relationship with both the lay community and local rulers, with patronage being granted in return for not only spiritual guidance but political legitimization.