255 - Thai artist, Phra Malai (Samut Khoi). Thailand or Cambodia, late 19th–early 20th century. An oblong, accordion-folded samut khoi manuscript. 140 x 675 mm (closed format). A fold-out volume consisting of 47 double-page spreads with text in black ink in Khom Thai (Khmer) script and several illustrations on both sides. On 6 pages per side, there are pairs of color-painted images arranged across two pages and positioned on either side of the text, which is centered. Ivory-colored khoi paper (paper made from mulberry bark). Covers made of brown-lacquered khoi cardboard. A handwritten copy of the Phrai Malai, a classic Thai Buddhist work that was the most popular subject for illustrated manuscripts in Thailand during the 19th century, though the story remains very popular today. According to various versions, Phra Malai was a Buddhist monk who accumulated so much merit that he acquired supernatural powers; thanks to these powers, he visited the various hells, where he encountered suffering souls who implored him to ensure that their living relatives would accumulate merit in preparation for what awaited them after death. He then traveled to the heavenly realms, where he met Indra and the future Buddha Maitreya, who imparted further teachings to him on the accumulation of merit. The legend of Phrai Malai, which addresses themes such as reincarnation, merit, and Buddhist cosmology, played an important role in 19th-century Thai funeral practices. In Buddhist communities, an accordion-style book of this type might be commissioned for funerals, during which monks would perform dramatized readings of the tales and adventures of Phra Malai. This type of manuscript is an integral part of the Buddhist tradition not only in Thailand but also in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka (the country from which they likely originated). The volume is housed in a splendid eight-panel manuscript case—three panels on each front and one on each side—decorated with gold lacquer on a black background, depicting various scenes from the Ramakien epic, the story of Rama. It features a base and a removable lid with a cord pull. Dimensions: 78 cm long x 27.3 cm wide x 27.3 cm high. (2) The volume and its case are in excellent condition.