1800 Royal Siamese Map of Parts of Thailand and Cambodia

Two c. 1800 Siamese / Thai manuscript maps, drawn back-to-back on hand loomed cotton. The significance of these maps cannot be understated. They are likely working drafts for parts of a series of maps compiled for and presented to the Siamese kings sometime between 1783 and 1825. Collectively, they represent the only examples of indigenous Siamese non-religious cartographic visualization outside 17 Royal Maps (really just 11, see below). As working draft, these maps may predate the Royal Siamese Maps, possibly making them the earliest known Thai maps.

Royal Siamese Maps

Until 1996, it was assumed that, other than some Buddhist religious maps, there was no Thai cartographic tradition predating extensive European engagement of the late 19th century. This school of thought was turned upside down in 1996, when royal officials inspecting linen cupboards in the Grand Palace discovered 17 magnificent large manuscript maps on cotton sheets - as here. The discovery forced a complete rethinking of Siamese cartographic history. The Royal Maps, as they came to be known, were displayed once, at the Jim Thompson House in Bangkok, then conserved, before being stored in the Royal archives. There is only a single work regarding the maps, Royal Siamese Maps by Santanee Phasuk and Philip Stott (2004). The 17 maps are not cohesive, but instead represent a variety of cartographic traditions, styles, and hands. Of the group, 5, 6, 10, 14, 16, and 17 are outliers, likely copied from foreign maps. The remaining maps from the series, 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 13, and to a lesser extent 3, 4, 11, 12, and 15, share distinctively Siamese conventions in representing water, topography, and nomenclatures. Likely, these 11 maps were produced by the same hand, as they also exhibit similar handwriting and brush-style.

These Maps

While this is not one of those maps, it is clearly the part of the same cartographic effort, and is likely a working draft for the above. The present map incorporates the same Siamese cartographic conventions and exhibits handwriting that is markedly similar, likely the same hand. Unlike the Royal Maps, the present maps are distinctive for being both cruder in execution, exhibiting corrections, and being inked on two sides. This suggests that these maps were the working drafts of the cartographer who inked the 11 similar maps noted above. Likely, as a draft, it was deemed ill-suited for presentation to the divine king, and so more crudely finished and set aside.

Blue Side

The side inked in blue covers Central and Southern Thailand and the Thai-Burmese borderlands. The Maenam Tong Po (Tong Po River), an important Thai river appears at top, with the large river at the bottom likely being the Chao Phraya. While the map focuses on river transport - the major arteries of commerce through this region, overland routes are noted in lighter pen, with route annotations describing travel distances, villages, landmarks, and more.

Red Side

The red side has arguably more dynamic, interesting, and visually compelling content. The Pacific Ocean with illustrated waves marks the top border. Nearby, one of the marked sites is Saigon (ไสงอน), suggesting that the nearby river networks represent the Mekong Delta. West, about center on the map, at center, is the Tonle Sap, the largest lake in Southeast Asia, in modern day central Cambodia. While more primitively rendered, the lank bears a notable similarly to the same represented on Royal Maps 7 and 8. Angkor is noted. The map extends west as far as Prachinburi and the banks of the Prachinburi River, which forms the bottom border. Prachinburi is about 62 miles east of Bangkok. This map has more detail on overland routes than the blue side - likely as the route from Thailand to Saigon generally ran perpendicular to major river arteries.

Dating

This, like the Royal Maps, is difficult to date. Our translator suggests a date of 2310-2325 BE (1767 - 1782 CE), during the Burmese-Siamese War (Nine Armies War; 1785 - 1786), under King Rama I. Based upon some of the placenames, he argues that this map predates the Siamese Invasion of Tenasserim, when the towns of ทวาย (Thawai) and ตะนาวศรี (Ta Nao Si) were permanently seized by Burma. If this is the case, this map would be the earliest, predating the Royal Maps, which range in from the reins of Rama I (1782 - 1809) to Rama IV (1804 - 1868).