Edited Books by Nicolas Revire
River Books & The Piriya Krairiksh Foundation, 2022
The collection of essays in this Festschrift celebrates the extraordinary scholarship of Professo... more The collection of essays in this Festschrift celebrates the extraordinary scholarship of Professor Piriya Krairiksh, the distinguished Thai art historian, on the occasion of his eightieth birthday. The most fitting way to honor our esteemed mentor and colleague, who has dedicated his career to teaching and fundamental research on Thai and Southeast Asian art and archeology, is to support further scholarship and debate on the issues in these fields. The volume gathers contributions from many of his colleagues, friends, students, disciples, and admirers in tribute to his gift to the world of his work.
The topics herein include early art and archeology, Dvāravatī, Borobodur, the Khmer and Mon civilizations, Bagan, Angkor, Ayutthaya, stoneware and porcelain, iconography, photography and contemporary culture. The list of authors is a veritable roll-call of the most eminent scholars in these fields and the lavish illustrations make it both a fitting celebration of Achan Piriya and an essential volume for all lovers of Southeast Asian art and culture.
River Books & The Siam Society, 2014
The birth of Siam has been traditionally marked by the founding of the great city-states of Sukho... more The birth of Siam has been traditionally marked by the founding of the great city-states of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya respectively. These civilisations, however, grew out of a rich milieu of cultures and traditions in the region present from as far back as prehistoric times. Whether it be the Mon Buddhism that flourished during the so-called Dvāravatī period, the architectural heritage of the Khmers or the Brahmanical and Mahāyāna stimuli of the Thai-Malay Peninsula, these varied aspects and influences came together to shape what became early Siam and today modern Thailand.
The aim of this peer-reviewed publication is to present new research and discoveries to reconstruct the historical and geographical settings, languages and cultures, religious persuasions and artistic traditions in pre-modern Thailand and its neighbouring regions. Through a large array of contributions by renowned experts, the public and academics alike will gain a richer and more multifaceted appreciation of this early history which played such a formative role in the birth of Siam.
Research Articles by Nicolas Revire
Journal of the Siam Society, 113(2): 215–242, 2025
This article examines a small pre-Angkorian bodhisattva in bronze (7th–8th century) at the Art In... more This article examines a small pre-Angkorian bodhisattva in bronze (7th–8th century) at the Art Institute of Chicago, traditionally identified as Maitreya but never studied in depth. Its iconography, style, and casting technique are considered within the Mon–Khmer corpus of early mainland Southeast Asian Buddhist imagery. The study reassesses the absence of archeological context and the unsubstantiated attribution to the so-called Prakhon Chai or Plai Bat Hill hoard in northeast Thailand, discovered in the 1960s. Attention is given to its acquisition through a New York–based dealer, likely connected to Bangkok networks, revealing the complex modern circulation of Southeast Asian antiquities.
Orientations, Vol. 56, No.1, pp. 23–33, 2025
This article examines a remarkable example of Tang Buddhist art: a finely polished brownish limes... more This article examines a remarkable example of Tang Buddhist art: a finely polished brownish limestone sculpture of the enthroned Buddha Maitreya, carved in high relief. Acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago over a century ago, this medium-sized figure exemplifies the era's artistic sophistication and spiritual devotion. The study explores the sculpture’s provenance, style, and iconography, with particular attention to the dated inscription (705 CE) and donor’s name on its base, contextualizing the piece within its historical and religious milieu.
Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, Vol. 76, Issue 3, pp. 355–371, 2023
Inscriptions in the highly calligraphic and still undeciphered śaṅkhalipi or 'shell script' have ... more Inscriptions in the highly calligraphic and still undeciphered śaṅkhalipi or 'shell script' have been found by the hundreds in most parts of India except the far south, typically in conjunction with sites and monuments dating from around the Gupta period and succeeding centuries. To date, four specimens have also been discovered in the Indonesian archipelago, in West Java and West Kalimantan (Borneo). Another specimen of śaṅkhalipi inscription, engraved on a pillar and exceptionally ornate, was recently discovered in Thailand at the site of Si Thep, a moated early settlement in Phetchabun Province. The article reviews the historical and cultural contexts of shell-script inscriptions in India and discusses the significance of this remarkable first specimen found in mainland Southeast Asia.
Journal of the Siam Society, Vol. 111, Pt. 1, pp. 57–74, 2023
This article discusses an unusual modern bronze image of the Buddha in the posture of subduing Mā... more This article discusses an unusual modern bronze image of the Buddha in the posture of subduing Māra which originated from Nakhon Ratchasima, northeast Thailand, now in the custody of the National Museum of Bangkok. This statue is unique because it is scarified all over its body with Khmer mystical letters and syllables forming Pali formulae and geometric designs. This evidently recalls the popular practice of "yantra tattooing" witnessed in Tai-Khmer cultures.
In Decoding Southeast Asian Art: Studies in Honor of Piriya Krairiksh, ed. by Nicolas Revire & Pitchaya Soomjinda, Bangkok: River Books & The Piriya Krairiksh Foundation, pp. 74–89, 2022
This essay examines a fine stone relief kept at Wat Suthat in Bangkok which originally came from ... more This essay examines a fine stone relief kept at Wat Suthat in Bangkok which originally came from Nakhon Pathom. Its style bespeaks the Dvāravatī artistic culture (seventh to eighth century CE). This narrative relief displays in two registers, moving upward, the Great Miracle at Śrāvastī in Jambudvīpa (India) and the Śākyamuni Buddha’s subsequent Dharma teaching to his mother and to the gods in Trāyastriṁśa heaven. The present essay draws on comparisons with earlier mural depictions and stone reliefs found at Ajaṇṭā and other western Indian caves in Maharashtra—dating from the turn of the sixth century CE onwards—to provide a new interpretation for depictions of the Buddha seated in bhadrāsana (i.e., with legs pendant), enthroned in majesty as the “Lord of the Universe”. Its appearance here is also politically symbolic in the temple envisioned as the nucleus of Siamese royal and divine power in the new capital of Rattanakosin.
Religions 13(9): 771, 2022
Following the apparent chaos that ensued at Ajaṇṭā during the so-called “period of disruption” in... more Following the apparent chaos that ensued at Ajaṇṭā during the so-called “period of disruption” in the wake of King Hariṣeṇa’s death (ca. 478–480 CE), local monks and residents in the caves continued to sponsor the donation of what we term “intrusive” images after the late Walter Spink. These new donations consisted of hundreds of Buddha images, a few of which retain today painted or incised dedicatory inscriptions in Sanskrit. Many of these images represent the Buddha preaching and seated in the “auspicious pose” (bhadrāsana) on the conventional lion throne with his legs down. In this article, the author focuses on the images accompanied by inscriptions since they provide a better understanding of the reuse of consecrated caves, and of the nature of this new and brief iconographic development implemented by local Buddhist residents. The sudden appearance of Bhadrāsana Buddhas seems indeed to correlate with a rise to prevalence of Mahāyāna Buddhist practices at Ajaṇṭā during the late Middle Period.
In Early Theravadin Cambodia: Perspectives from Art and Archaeology, ed. by Ashley Thompson, Singapore: SOAS-NUS Press, pp. 231–268, 2022
This essay aims to survey the artistic, epigraphic, textual and premodern ritual evidence for the... more This essay aims to survey the artistic, epigraphic, textual and premodern ritual evidence for the emergence of the cult of past and future Buddhas in Cambodia proper and its bordering regions. It also briefly compares these lists with material from Sri Lanka and other neighbouring countries, and examines their importance in understanding the advent and uniqueness of Theravada across the region.
A recorded lecture on this topic has been given at the Sirindhorn Anthropological Center, Bangkok, in Nov. 22, 2017. It is available online here:
http://channel.sac.or.th/th/website/video/detail_news/
Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient, Vol. 107, pp. 257–301, 2021
This article presents a handful of early inscriptions recently discovered in Cambodia and Thailan... more This article presents a handful of early inscriptions recently discovered in Cambodia and Thailand, and discusses their implications for our understanding of the religious and sociopolitical landscape of “Funan”, “Zhenla”, and “Dvāravatī”. The epigraphical evidence presented here, moving back in time and from east to west, consists in: 1) a label and two stanzas inscribed in handsome seventh-century lettering (K. 1455) on the base of a standing statue of the Buddha from Angkor Borei, a site which occupied a pre-eminent position in one of the most important polities in early Southeast Asia, called Funan by Chinese sources; 2) a group of fragments found in Mueang Phaniat, Chanthaburi province, one of which mentions the seventh-century Khmer sovereign Īśānavarman I, seemingly as the then ruling king (K. 1563), adding support to the hypothesis of Zhenla’s extension into eastern Thailand during this period; and 3) an inscription with splendidly florid calligraphic lettering of a slightly earlier period that was discovered at Wat Phra Ngam in Nakhon Pathom, in central Thailand, and that mentions the city name Dvāravatī. Since that inscription (N.Th. 21) contains no discernible evidence of belonging to a Khmer polity, it has not been assigned a K. inventory number.
Arts asiatiques, tome 76, pp. 5-30, 2021
This article examines rare epigraphical evidence engraved on three inscribed Bodhisattva sculptur... more This article examines rare epigraphical evidence engraved on three inscribed Bodhisattva sculptures dated to the second half of the first millennium from Sarnath, in Uttar Pradesh, Telhara, and Bargaon, in Bihar. The inscriptions contain the heart-mantra ārolik, i.e., the “three and a half syllables” connected to Avalokiteśvara and the “Lotus Family.” The fragments from Bihar probably depict a six-armed Amoghapāśa, a specific iconographic form of Avalokiteśvara, while the Bargaon inscription is the only identified occurrence in Sanskrit epigraphy of the Amoghapāśahr̥dayadhāraṇī, composed in South Asia and transmitted to East Asia in the mid-to-late first millennium. The heart-mantra ārolik is also known in esoteric and tantric Buddhist sources still preserved in Sanskrit originals or Chinese and Tibetan translations. Our study concludes on the broader implications for the identification of Avalokiteśvara in early Indian Buddhist art.
Journal of Bengal Art, Vol. 26 (Dedicated to Claudine Bautze-Picron), pp. 579–596, 2021
This essay, offered in honour of Prof. Claudine Bautze-Picron, discusses three inscribed early me... more This essay, offered in honour of Prof. Claudine Bautze-Picron, discusses three inscribed early medieval sculptures coming from Bihar in India. Two of these sculptures depict the Buddha seated in bhadrāsana, one of which is a rare bejewelled example, both seemingly performing the Great Miracle at Śrāvastī and the teaching of the First Sermon at Sārnāth. The third image represents an elusive (Buddhist?) deity named Puṇḍeśvarī. On the basis of their donative inscriptions mentioning the name Tentadīgrāma, we can now conclusively attribute this ancient locality as the modern village of Tetrawan in the Nalanda district of Bihar.
Journal of the Siam Society, Vol. 109, Pt. 1, pp. 101–118, 2021
This article develops from recent numismatic studies and discoveries made at the site of Khuan Lu... more This article develops from recent numismatic studies and discoveries made at the site of Khuan Luk Pat, in Khlong Thom district, Krabi province of Peninsular Thailand. Some of the gold coins found there are inscribed on the reverse with the name Viṣuvama in Prakrit, possibly equivalent to Viṣṇuvarman in Sanskrit, and may refer to a local Indianized ruler of the first centuries CE. This would be the earliest royal title suffixed by °varman that we know for a king in Thailand. This Vaiṣṇava name, moreover, has, to date, not been found in the rest of mainland Southeast Asia, although there are a few epigraphic occurrences ascribed to Viṣṇuvarman known in South Asia from the late 1st century BCE to the 6th century CE. In addition, and most remarkably, an inscribed seal from the 5th-6th century discovered long ago in Peninsular Malaysia contains the same name in Sanskrit, thus giving rise to speculation regarding the identity and relationship between these two Viṣṇuvarmans uncovered in the Golden Peninsula.
Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, Vol. 20, pp. 51–82, 2021
This paper reconsiders the last meal of the Buddha from the little studied perspective of 'kammic... more This paper reconsiders the last meal of the Buddha from the little studied perspective of 'kammic fluff' (kammapilotika). Although marginal in the Nikāyas, this idea is more prominent in the commentarial accounts of the Buddha's death, and suggests that the Buddha's final meal aided the Buddha, rather than directly caused his death. Additionally, we examine other evidence from some Theravāda traditions of mainland South East Asia: modern mural paintings from Cambodia and Thailand which indicate that the Buddha's death possibly resulted from a complication of a chronic peptic ulcer involving the vomiting of blood, and a little known Pali text of 'Indo-Chinese' origin, which supports this interpretation, and assumes that the Buddha's final illness was caused by the remnants of his former kamma.
In From Xiangyuan to Ceylon: The Life and Legacy of the Chinese Buddhist monk Faxian (337–422), ed. by Jinhua CHEN & KUAN Guang, Singapore: World Scholastic Publishers, pp. 351–373, 2020
In this paper, I compare and examine several legendary
traditions relating to the appearance of t... more In this paper, I compare and examine several legendary
traditions relating to the appearance of the ‘first’ icon of the living
Buddha. The legend is well known across Buddhist Asia and was
particularly influential in first-millennium China. Faxian 法顯
(ca. 337–422), the first Chinese pilgrim to travel to India in the
early 400s CE, left a fairly detailed report on this ‘first image’ of the
Buddha. The account given in his important travelogue, A Record of
Buddhist Kingdoms or Foguo ji 佛國記, states that King Prasenajit of
Kośala ordered the statue to be executed in sandalwood during the
Buddha’s lifetime at Śrāvastī, when the Lord departed on a preaching
journey. Many related legends from China, Japan, Tibet, Sri Lanka,
and even mainland Southeast Asia exist. But, according to this
copious literary evidence, what exactly did the ‘sandalwood’ model
look like? While these narratives may enjoy numerous variations
and additions, all versions—starting with Faxian’s—agree that the
sandalwood image was originally intended to ‘be seated’ on a throne
(還坐), despite common and later assertions that it was a standing
statue. This paper thus proposes a different interpretation for the
appearance of the first ‘enthroned’ Buddha image.
Journal of the Siam Society, Vol. 107, Pt 2, pp. 63-90, 2019
A rare stele depicting the birth of the Buddha, taken from Angkor Wat in 1899 and now housed in t... more A rare stele depicting the birth of the Buddha, taken from Angkor Wat in 1899 and now housed in the Bangkok National Museum, raises issues central to the Buddhist art and civilization of Angkor. Stemming from the late 13th or the early 14th century, it draws its inspiration primarily from North Indian Sanskrit textual sources, thereby providing further evidence of the continuing dominance of that tradition in Cambodia and mainland Southeast Asia, prior to the more recent and final onset of Pali-based Buddhism (i.e. Theravāda or Theravaṁsa).
A lecture on this topic has been delivered at the Siam Society in Bangkok on 7 February 2019. It is available online here: https://youtu.be/bBLp4txtxXY
TRaNS: Trans-Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 167-205, 2018
Most scholars think that the generic name 'Golden Land' (Sanskrit, Suvarnabhumi; Pali, Suvannabhu... more Most scholars think that the generic name 'Golden Land' (Sanskrit, Suvarnabhumi; Pali, Suvannabhumi) was first used by Indian traders as a vague designation for an extensive region beyond the subcontinent, presumably in Southeast Asia. Some Pali sources specifically link Suvannabhumi with the introduction of Buddhism to the region. The locus classicus is the Sri Lankan Mahavamsa chronicle (fifth century AD) which states that two monks, Sona and Uttara, were sent there for missionary activities in the time of King Asoka (third century BC). However, no Southeast Asian textual or epigraphic sources refer to this legend or to the Pali term Suvannabhumi before the second millennium AD. Conversely, one may ask, what hard archaeological evidence is there for the advent of Buddhism in mainland Southeast Asia? This article reexamines the appropriation of the name Suvannabhumi in Thailand and Burma for political and nationalist purposes and deconstructs the connotation of the term and what it has meant to whom, where, and when. It also carefully confronts the Buddhist literary evidence and earliest epigraphic and archaeological data, distinguishing material discoveries from legendary accounts, with special reference to the ancient Mon countries of Ramaññadesa (lower Burma) and Dvaravati (central Thailand).
In India and Southeast Asia: Cultural Discourses, ed. by Dallapiccola, Anna L. & Verghese, Anila, Mumbai: K R Cama Oriental Institute, pp. 279–304, 2017
This paper presents in detail a study of a particular type of representation of the Buddha, where... more This paper presents in detail a study of a particular type of representation of the Buddha, where he is shown seated in bhadrasana, i.e. posture with two legs pendant. Often, this asana is combined with the teaching “Gesture of Turning the Wheel of the Law” (dharmacakramudra). This iconographic type is commonly found in some of the oldest Buddhist and artistic cultural centers of both South and Southeast Asia during the mid-to-late first millennium CE. It must be distinguished from another common group of Buddhas in bhadrasana also found in Southeast Asia – but rarely in South Asia – showing the teaching gesture with only the right hand raised (vitarkamudra).
South Asian antecedents are well known for Buddhas in bhadrasana and dharmacakramudra; they are found in Gandhara and Sarnath as early as the fourth-fifth century CE. This iconographic type became a hallmark of the rock-cut caves of Ajanta, Ellora, Kanheri, and many other western Deccan sites in Maharashtra from the turn of the sixth century onwards; it was also adopted later in Nalanda and other Pala sites of Bihar and Bengal. On many occasions, these Buddhas are arranged as the central figure in triads and are surrounded by two standing Bodhisattvas. Several images from central Java, dateable to approximately the late eighth through ninth century, share the same iconography. The most famous Javanese example is no doubt the Buddha carved in stone enshrined at Candi Mendut, near Borobudur.
The paper traces the origins and significance of this particular iconographic type in South Asia as well as its chronological development and spread in Southeast Asia through the maritime trade routes. An explanation of the triadic arrangements that can be observed in situ in most western Deccan caves with their central shrine Buddha images in bhadrasana and dharmacakramudra will be proposed. Several iconographic parallels and stylistic similarities with Maharashtra cave sites lead me to suggest that this triadic arrangement, probably based on certain Buddhist texts, was exported to central Java from this specific region.
Indo-Asiatische Zeitschrift, Vol. 20-21, pp. 3-14, 2017
Sun worship or heliolatry in human form was certainly important in ancient Vraja (Mathura) and No... more Sun worship or heliolatry in human form was certainly important in ancient Vraja (Mathura) and Northwest
India, witnessed by the sheer number of Sun god (Aditya or Surya) images found there. From the Kushan period
(2nd-3rd centuries) onwards, these images were mostly depicted in a squatting position, a posture also adopted at times by Kushan rulers in their portraits. Solar metaphors also permeate the Pali and Sanskrit Buddhist literature of the same period. In particular, the Buddha himself is often designated in such texts by the epithet adicca- or adityabandhu, or “relative/brother/kinsman of the Sun”. This article briefly reexamines the solar symbolic aspects attached to images made during the late Kushan and early Gupta periods, roughly encompassing the 3rd and 4th centuries CE. Greatly enhancing our understanding of solar symbolism in early Buddhist art is a unique stone sculpture of the Buddha preserved in the Asian Art Museum in Berlin, shown squatting like Aditya or Surya, with a large nimbus radiating what appear to be solar rays.
Berliner Indologische Studien/Berlin Indological Studies, Vol. 23, pp. 143-156, 2017
Solar metaphors largely permeate the early Pali and Sanskrit Buddhist literature. In such texts, ... more Solar metaphors largely permeate the early Pali and Sanskrit Buddhist literature. In such texts, the Buddha is often designated by the epithet ādicca- or ādityabandhu, or “relative/brother/kinsman of the Sun.” In this paper, I present a few textual examples to define precisely how the Buddha is said to relate to the Sun, in one aspect or another.
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Edited Books by Nicolas Revire
The topics herein include early art and archeology, Dvāravatī, Borobodur, the Khmer and Mon civilizations, Bagan, Angkor, Ayutthaya, stoneware and porcelain, iconography, photography and contemporary culture. The list of authors is a veritable roll-call of the most eminent scholars in these fields and the lavish illustrations make it both a fitting celebration of Achan Piriya and an essential volume for all lovers of Southeast Asian art and culture.
The aim of this peer-reviewed publication is to present new research and discoveries to reconstruct the historical and geographical settings, languages and cultures, religious persuasions and artistic traditions in pre-modern Thailand and its neighbouring regions. Through a large array of contributions by renowned experts, the public and academics alike will gain a richer and more multifaceted appreciation of this early history which played such a formative role in the birth of Siam.
Research Articles by Nicolas Revire
A recorded lecture on this topic has been given at the Sirindhorn Anthropological Center, Bangkok, in Nov. 22, 2017. It is available online here:
http://channel.sac.or.th/th/website/video/detail_news/
traditions relating to the appearance of the ‘first’ icon of the living
Buddha. The legend is well known across Buddhist Asia and was
particularly influential in first-millennium China. Faxian 法顯
(ca. 337–422), the first Chinese pilgrim to travel to India in the
early 400s CE, left a fairly detailed report on this ‘first image’ of the
Buddha. The account given in his important travelogue, A Record of
Buddhist Kingdoms or Foguo ji 佛國記, states that King Prasenajit of
Kośala ordered the statue to be executed in sandalwood during the
Buddha’s lifetime at Śrāvastī, when the Lord departed on a preaching
journey. Many related legends from China, Japan, Tibet, Sri Lanka,
and even mainland Southeast Asia exist. But, according to this
copious literary evidence, what exactly did the ‘sandalwood’ model
look like? While these narratives may enjoy numerous variations
and additions, all versions—starting with Faxian’s—agree that the
sandalwood image was originally intended to ‘be seated’ on a throne
(還坐), despite common and later assertions that it was a standing
statue. This paper thus proposes a different interpretation for the
appearance of the first ‘enthroned’ Buddha image.
A lecture on this topic has been delivered at the Siam Society in Bangkok on 7 February 2019. It is available online here: https://youtu.be/bBLp4txtxXY
South Asian antecedents are well known for Buddhas in bhadrasana and dharmacakramudra; they are found in Gandhara and Sarnath as early as the fourth-fifth century CE. This iconographic type became a hallmark of the rock-cut caves of Ajanta, Ellora, Kanheri, and many other western Deccan sites in Maharashtra from the turn of the sixth century onwards; it was also adopted later in Nalanda and other Pala sites of Bihar and Bengal. On many occasions, these Buddhas are arranged as the central figure in triads and are surrounded by two standing Bodhisattvas. Several images from central Java, dateable to approximately the late eighth through ninth century, share the same iconography. The most famous Javanese example is no doubt the Buddha carved in stone enshrined at Candi Mendut, near Borobudur.
The paper traces the origins and significance of this particular iconographic type in South Asia as well as its chronological development and spread in Southeast Asia through the maritime trade routes. An explanation of the triadic arrangements that can be observed in situ in most western Deccan caves with their central shrine Buddha images in bhadrasana and dharmacakramudra will be proposed. Several iconographic parallels and stylistic similarities with Maharashtra cave sites lead me to suggest that this triadic arrangement, probably based on certain Buddhist texts, was exported to central Java from this specific region.
India, witnessed by the sheer number of Sun god (Aditya or Surya) images found there. From the Kushan period
(2nd-3rd centuries) onwards, these images were mostly depicted in a squatting position, a posture also adopted at times by Kushan rulers in their portraits. Solar metaphors also permeate the Pali and Sanskrit Buddhist literature of the same period. In particular, the Buddha himself is often designated in such texts by the epithet adicca- or adityabandhu, or “relative/brother/kinsman of the Sun”. This article briefly reexamines the solar symbolic aspects attached to images made during the late Kushan and early Gupta periods, roughly encompassing the 3rd and 4th centuries CE. Greatly enhancing our understanding of solar symbolism in early Buddhist art is a unique stone sculpture of the Buddha preserved in the Asian Art Museum in Berlin, shown squatting like Aditya or Surya, with a large nimbus radiating what appear to be solar rays.