Book Condition: Very Good with Very Good DJ, shows signs of shelf wear and which has been sellotaped for protection along the length of the Spine. Anuvit Charernsupkul, The Elements of Thai Architecture, translated by Victor Kennedy (Bangkok, Karn Pim Satri Sarn, 1978), 142 pages, 61 plates. Prof.Anuvit, who holds a degree in architecture from Rice University in the United States and who is obviously well versed in the ways of Western architectural theory, has attempted in this small volume to analyze various aspects of traditional Thai religious architecture, partially, at least, from a Western viewpoint. Unlike most Western architects, the author views Thai architecture (which for him includes, bot, wihan [congregation halls,] and prang [stupas displaying Khmer influence],as "less of an architectural form, or even a structural form than it is a sculptural form created out of its architectural components:" These components are all ornamental -a "dressing"-and each is discussed individually, chapter by chapter. In addition to chapters on sema stones (physically disconnected from the structures they surround) and the ceiling medallions mentioned above, there are chapters devoted to eaves brackets (which, the author informs us, are non-structural); gables (the components "for which fine ornament is given its clearest display"); door ornament; and mural design. The Elements of Thai Architecture does include a number of interesting photographs and a remarkable accumulation of information about Thai architecture not normally available to English readers. Some caution must de taken with Prof. Anuvit's dates. For example, several architectural works usually, and correctly, I think, attributed to the Ayutthaya period,are here given Sukhothai period dates. But Prof. Anuvit is much more concerned here with architecture that falls outside the spectrum usually considered in the classic works on Thai art history. And \nherein lies the value of the book. Regional works from all over Thailand -from Lanna to Nakhon Phanom to Nakhon Si Thammarat-are included, and Prof. Anuvit's respect for popular taste as a determinant of architectural styles is worth considering. The author's special interest in the foreign is also evident throughout the book. For instance, we are told about, and shown a photograph of, a Buddhist deity in the guise of a male European; a sema stone displays "Mediterranean" influence; and the use of Chinese ceramics as architectural embelishment is frequently mentioned. While one cannot claim that these things constitute the mainstream of Thailand's architectural history, they are interesting, and it is a pleasant surprise to find them included here.
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