Manuscript and binding boards
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
late 18th century-early 19th century
This item consists of a Burmese Buddhist manuscript (Kamawa-sa) made of stiffened cloth, accompanied by a pair of unrelated wooden binding boards (kyan). Dating to the late 18th to early 19th century during the Konbaung Dynasty, the piece originated in Myanmar. The production methods include forming, lacquering, and gilding, with recorded materials including lacquer and gilt.
The manuscript contains Pali text executed in tamarind seed script. The surface is red lacquered and gilded, embellished with figurative and foliate decorative motifs. Visually, the components are elongated and rectangular, with one element displaying a solid red lacquered surface and another covered in intricate gilt patterns consisting of foliate scrollwork and framed panels.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
A Kamawa-sa served as a ritual form used for the initiation of a layman into Buddhist monkhood and contained extracts from Buddhist scriptures. This object was given to the museum by the Hon. Lady Beatrix Gatacre, wife of Sir William Forbes Gatacre (1843–1906), who was posted to India in 1862 and served with the army in India and Burma for most of the period until 1897.
Technical characteristics
- Place recorded
- Myanmar
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Manuscript and binding boards
- Museum object number
- IM.85:1 to 18-1912
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.