Southeast Asia

From richly-illustrated Thai and Burmese folding books and Buddhist texts inscribed on palm leaf and paper, to divination books written on bark by the Batak peoples of Sumatra, the cultures of Southeast Asia are represented by more than 250 works in the Chester Beatty collections. Dating to the 18th and 19th centuries, many of these works embody the courtly splendor of vibrant kingdoms and flourishing religious devotion, others reveal the encroachment of colonial powers.