South-East Asia. Studies In Art, Cultural Heritage

The preparation of this book began in 2011 and was connected with the 5th centenary of establishing contacts between Europe and South-East Asia. After Goa was conquered by the Portuguese in 1509, Admiral Alfonso de Albuquerque, the Deputy Governor of Portuguese India sent an expedition to Malakka (today Malaysia) in 1511. On the 24th of August they seized the city and built the Famosa fortress. In the same year, the diplomat Duarte Fernandes reached Ayutthaya, with a mission for King Ramathibodi II, and established relations with the Kingdom of Siam. Irrespective of the political evaluation of the Portuguese mission, it must be said that the establishment of direct contacts between Europe and South-East Asia is one of the most important events in the political, economic and cultural history of the world. South-East Asia is a fascinating melting pot, where nations, tribes, ethnic minorities and colonies of migrants from different countries mix. These are, for example, Indians, the Chinese, and Europeans. People of many religions meet here - Hindis, Buddhists of various traditions, Muslims, Christians and believers in local faiths. It is this melting pot that saw the formation of the aristocratic court culture based on Indian patterns (Siam, Thailand, Cambodia), Confucian culture of administrative officials (Vietnam), the culture of religious centres, trade towns gradually brought under Chinese control, the colonial culture of Europeans, as well as the culture of the lower strata of society - folk and tribal culture. In such an environment an art historian, ethnologist, theater historian, or Orientalist can research works of art (including folk art and craft), as well as theatrical spectacles, their stylistic conventions, techniques of execution, iconography and symbolism, religious and social function, local elements and external influence. The present volume is the first, extensive collection of studies on the arts of South-East Asia published in Poland. It covers a huge area of almost the whole region and the contributors focus on various fields of culture, from visual arts and puppet theatre to travel accounts and epics.