Bibliography of Southeast Asian Art

Note: Much of the primary scholarship on Cambodian art is published by French writers in the French language. A recommended starting-point for Francophone readers is Bruno Bruguier, Bibliographie du Cambodge ancien, EFEO, Paris, 1998.

  • Ancient Angkor, by Michael Freeman and Claude Jacques, River Books, 1999. A beautiful guide to the Angkor site, this book contains everything needed for a memorable visit: excellent color photography, detailed descriptions, expert and informed text, and many thoughtful extras, ranging from "Lintel Styles" to "The Great Views at Angkor."
  • Angkor and the Khmer Civilization, by Michael D. Coe, Thames & Hudson, 2003. A masterful and well-written synthesis, full of insights on every page. Coe's lucid exposition makes the book a very accessible introduction for beginners, while his scholarship and perspicacity recommend the book to advanced students and scholars as well.
  • Angkor Wat: Time, Space, and Kingship, by Eleanor Mannikka, University of Hawaii Press, 1996. The book presents Mannikka's theory that the actual physical dimensions and measurements of Angkor Wat encode specific symbolic meanings. Her work has attracted a great deal of interest, but the way it is presented here, with chapter after chapter of mind-numbing lists and diagrams of numerical measurements, is likely to discourage many readers who would otherwise be very interested in her conclusions. Even so, the general reader may want to get the book anyway and just skim through it for the "good parts."
  • The Archaeology of Mainland and Southeast Asia, by Charles Higham, Cambridge University Press, 1989. A book that will appeal mostly to specialists, being a survey of the early archaeology (i.e. pots and beads, rather than temples and Buddhas) of Southeast Asia. A standard reference in its field.
  • Ayutthaya, by Chaiwat Worachetwarawat. A 30-page brochure that has the Buddha head, embraced by the roots of a banyan tree, on the cover. The best 50 cents (20 bhat) that you will ever spend, it includes the brief histories of nineteen major archaeological sites at Ayutthaya, plus a map in Thai script and English that is very useful for communicating with your driver and other local people. The brochure is available everywhere in Ayutthaya.
  • The Buddhist Murals of Pagan: Timeless Vistas of the Cosmos, by Claudine Bautze-Picron, Weatherhill, 2003. A beautiful and informative, full-color, large-format presentation of the major painted murals in the temples of Pagan.
  • Burma's Lost Kingdoms, by Pamela Gurman, Weatherhill, 2001. An attractive book about the relatively unknown early Burman kingdom of Arakan. Still off the beaten tourist track, Arakan is well worth exploring; this book might be a good place to start.
  • The Civilization of Angkor, by Charles Higham, University of California Press, 2001. A political history of Angkor, largely reliant upon analysis of inscriptions. While it is useful as a reference, its great detail and dry style of writing preclude recommending it for the general reader.
  • The Customs of Cambodia, by Zhou Daguan, tr. J. Gilman d'Arcy Paul, The Siam Society, Bangkok, 1993; or, tr. Michael Smithies, The Siam Society, Bangkok, 2001. Zhou Daguan was a Chinese envoy who visited Angkor in 1296-7. The book is difficult to obtain in the United States; if you happen to run across a copy abroad, it is worth buying on the spot.
  • A Guide to Khmer Temples in Thailand and Laos, by Michael Freeman, Weatherhill, 1996. The ultimate guide to temples in this region, combining beautiful color photography with thoroughly detailed and expert commentary. An essential travel companion, and a book that one returns to with pleasure.
  • Guide to the National Museum, Bangkok. Fine Arts Department, Ministry of Education, 1999. An inexpensive, illustrated guide with label-type information about a few of the collection's highlights. Available at the museum.
  • Imperial Pagan: Art and Architecture of Burma, by Paul Strachan, University of Hawaii Press, 1989. Previously published as "Pagan: Art and Architecture of Old Burma," this book is the essential reference for the Pagan temples. Organized chronologically, the book discusses 72 individual temples from a mostly art-historical perspective.
  • Insight Gudes: Thailand, APA Publications, 2002. An attractive general-coverage 350-page guidebook with numerous color photographs. A useful hundred-page introduction to the history and culture of Thailand is followed by two hundred pages describing individual sites in the country, although often with less detail than one would ideally like. The book concludes with fifty pages on practicalities of travel, hotels, shopping, etc.
  • Khmer: The Lost Empire of Cambodia, by Thierry Zephir, Abrams 1998. This is an unusual book: although short (130pp) and small (5" x 7"), it manages to pack an amazing amount of information (and numerous full-color photographs) into its allotted space. Author and publisher share the credit for such a feat of compactification.
  • Khmer Mythology: Secrets of Angkor, by Vittorio Roveda, Weatherhill, 1998. This useful book discusses many of the Angkor reliefs and explains the myths they illustrate. Part I indexes myths to reliefs, and Part II indexes reliefs to myths. Although worthwhile, it is now largely superseded by Sacred Angkor, Roveda's more recent book on the same subject. On this website, references to "Roveda" (with page numbers, and without further qualification) refer to "Sacred Angkor," not to "Khmer Mythology."
  • Lonely Planet: Myanmar (Burma), 8th ed., Sept. 2002. This 400-page (5" x 7") guide to Burma includes all-too-brief, although generally well-researched, information about the principal monuments. It is suitable for the general traveler, but readers who are interested in art and architecture will want more depth of coverage in those topics than the book provides.
  • Millennium of Glory, Helen Ibbitson Jessup and Thierry Zephir (editors), Thames and Hudson, 1997. The catalog of a major exhibit of Cambodian art from the National Museum of Cambodia and the Musee Guimet in Paris. Although chauvinistic (only one non-French author, Richard Cooler, is cited) and expensive, the book is an essential resource for the Khmer art of Angkor and ancient Cambodia.
  • The New Guide to the National Museum, Phnom Penh, by Khun Samen, Cambodian Ministry of Culture, 2002. Paperback, available at the museum's front desk. Discusses a relatively small sample of the museum's 5,000 objects, with remarks on the art history of Cambodia. The photographs in the book are poorly reproduced.
  • Sacred Angkor, by Vittorio Roveda, Weatherhill, 2003. A detailed, well-illustrated, and quite useful study of the Angkor reliefs, this book will be welcomed by anyone who is interested in the iconography and meaning of these beautiful works of art.
  • Thailand Handbook, by Carl Parkes, 3d edition, Moon Travel Handbooks, 2000. A general-coverage 800-page guide, black-and-white throughout, that contains more art and architecture coverage than others of its type.