The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXXI, Part 1-2, 1983 - Khamkoo

222 hetty Gosling
of archaeological remains at Palembang is due to the use of wood, for which the shipbuilders
of the maritime empire would have had a special aptitude. Specific sculptural
wor~s and archaeological sites are discussed, styles are related to those of neighboring
areas, and the problem of importation versus local production is discussed.
. .
In chapter 2, M.C. Subhadradis Diskul_ describes with his usual precision· and
elegance a number of works from Peninsular Siam. Significant artistic details are discussed,
possible Javanese, Indian, and Khmer prototypes are considered, and tentative
dates are suggested. Although M.C. Subhadradis Diskt~l acknowledges that sometimes
his dates are highly subjective, in the absence of inscriptional evidence and established
chronologies, his suggestions are welcomed as knowledgeable hypotheses.
Chapter 3, by Syed Ahmad bin Jamal and Othman bin Mohd Yatim, considers
architecture and sculpture in peninsular Malaysia, and chapter 4, by Juan R. Francisco,
discusses briefly the questionable possibility of Sri:vijaya art in the Philippines. It is .
disappointing that "because of the lack of time and the impossibility of local study," it
was not possible to_ include chapters on possible Srivijayan influence in Cambodia,
Champa, Vietnam, and Yunnan. The inclusion of eighth-and ninth- century Mahayana
sculpture from central Thailand would have rounded out the picture nicely.
The Art of Srivijaya includes nearly one hundred photographs illustrating
works of art discussed by the various authors. There are also five sketch-maps
showing locations of archaeological sites in Sumatra, Thailand, and Malaysia, and there
is a short bibliography. Given the editor's reasonable hopes that the book might lead
of further research, it is puzzling that specific references are not cited. One wishes
also for illustrations that have not been included for some of the works disc~ssed in
detail in the text.
But, all in all, The Art of Srivijaya is a good introduction to a cgmplex and
controversial subject and a challenge to search for answers. Carol Stratton and Miriam
McNair Scott, in The Art of Sukhothai: Thailand's Golden Age, also provide a survey
of a still much-debated subject. But here, in contrast to M.C. Subhadradis Diskul's
inquiring approach, the authors have opted for an unequivocal non-critical presentation
that suggests a finality to conclusions that are still in need of confirmation.
In order to understand the contents of The Art of Sukhothai it is necessary to
know something of previous works on. the subject. Before Mr. A.B. Griswold's
Towards a History of Sukhothai Art was published by the Fine Arts Department in
1967, little was known of Sukhothai's art and history. Mr. Griswold m~de available
many new and exciting concepts, without which further studies in the English language
would probably not have appeared for some time. The word towards in the title is
significant. Since the publication of this important work, new inscriptional and