Khmer Ceramics: Beauty and Meaning

This book focuses on two aspects of Khmer ceramics — their beauty and their meaning — and looks at them through the extraordinary private collection of Yothin Tharahirunchot. This book aims to explore the meaning of Khmer ceramics within the context of their function and to call attention to their aesthetics. The largest and most complete in the world, the collection of Yothin Tharahirunchot, comprises some 160 pieces and reflects the owner's knowledgeable eye, keen sensibility, and enduring passion for Khmer ceramics. Yothin Tharahirunchot invited renowned ceramics expert Dawn F. Rooney to research and publish the collection. Furthermore, two Thai scholars, Krisda Pinsri and Pariwat Thammapreechakorn were engaged to research specific aspects of the subject. Their findings are presented for the first time in this book. Both papers are expansive and explore understudied areas of Khmer ceramics. To convey the beauty of the wares, Yothin Tharahirunchot invited Robert McLeod, an internationally renowned photographer, to photograph the collection. His evocative photographs encouraged a single-page format supported by descriptive captions.