Details

Subjects:

Ghosts.
Medicine.
Thailand.
Medicine -- Thailand.
Ghosts -- Thailand.

Form/Genre:

accordion books.
Treatises.
Manuscripts, Thai -- 19th century.
Manuscripts, Digital.

Language:

In Thai.

Biography/History:

Also known as Phra Bamroe Rachabaedya; physician of Rama III (Nangklao); composer of the Wat Pho medical inscriptions (Woodward).

Summary:

Medical treatise (Tamra ya) in Thai by a royal physician; the manuscript's title translates as A royal comprehensive guide to chemistry containing the elements and characteristics of all the known and observed diseases. Bhamuan (encyclopedic guide) of the known diseases that covers the 22 types of characteristics of diseases. According to the colophon, the text also provides descriptions of medicines that prevent diseases caused by ghosts.

Notes:

Written in 4 lines per leaf.
Dated 1838 (Woodward).
Folios colored black, with yellow script, except for colophon written in chalk; folded concertina- or accordion-style, including upper cover.
Upper cover with a border formed of additional layers of heavy paper; no lower cover.

Penn Provenance:

Possibly formerly held in the one of the royal libraries (Ho Luang), based on the script (Ajarn Niyada Laosunthorn, Royal Institute).
Formerly owned by Leonard Unger, ambassador to Laos (1962-1964), Thailand (1967), and China (1974-1979), and his wife Anne Louise Axon Unger; probably purchased by Anne Unger in 1967.
Sold as part of the collection of Ambassador and Mrs. Unger at auction at Harris Auction Galleries (Baltimore), 11 October 1998, lot 11, to Hiram W. Woodward.
Gift of Hiram W. Woodward, 2013.

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Coll. 990, Item 1

Contributor:

Unger, Anne Louise Axon, -2014, former owner.
Unger, Leonard, 1917- former owner.
Woodward, Hiram W., former owner.

OCLC:

841371257