The Dvaravati Wheels of the Law and the Indianization of South East Asia.

• Author: Bolon, Carol Radcliffe
• Position: Book Review

The Dvaravati Wheels of the Law and the Indianization of South East Asia. By ROBERT L. BROWN, Studies in Asian Art and Archaeology, vol. 18. Leiden: BRILL, 1996. Pp. xxxii + 237, 26 drawings, plates.

Art from Thailand. Edited by ROBERT L. BROWN. Bombay: MARG PUBLICATIONS, 1999. Pp. 104. $60.

The phenomenon of absorption of elements of Indian culture by people of Southeast Asia in early centuries is known as "Indianization." Art is part of the evidence for this transfer. The two books under review address this phenomenon in regard to ancient Thailand. The first is a revision of the dissertation of Robert L. Brown, a specialist in Thai art; the second, a collection of essays, was edited by Brown. Similar issues are addressed in both, though the dissertation is a treatment in depth; the essay collection will be discussed here first.

In his introduction to Art from Thailand, Brown states the problem, that it is a "mystery how Indian artistic styles and iconography are so thoroughly reflected in Thai art without models or copies." "Few early Indian sculptures are found in Thailand, and those found already have a Thai distinction." Should India-influenced Thai art be considered that of "Further India," or merely a thin "flaking cultural crust"? In short, the aim is to delve into details of the process of localizing Indian cultural and artistic sources in the materials discussed by each author, from the sixth to sixteenth century.

Each of the eight authors addresses a different medium of art: sculpture, architecture, clay tablets, ceramics, coins.

Not all of these essays address questions of how the process of Indianization occurred. Most however, give the impression of progress in refinement of historic facts through whatever means of perception, art style, new discoveries, etc., and above all they give the impression that the process was complex and certainly not linear, with different sources serving as fresh "waves" of influence at different times. Important points of dissemination from India include Nalanda, Bodhgaya, Nagapattinam, Amaravati, Mahabalipuram, the Chola empire in general, but equally involved were China, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia. How was it effected? By trade, travel, political alliance, war, some migration perhaps, and by the appeal of the great new religion itself. Some of the recognizable aspects would include, but not be limited to architectural and sculptural style resemblances, and aesthetic choices like multiple...