Manuscript storage cabinet

This gilt lacquer storage cabinet served to house and protect Buddhist manuscripts in monastic libraries. Such cabinets were gifted to monasteries by lay devotees, typically to mark the ordination of a family member as a novice. These cabinets are known under the general title of tu pra thom, "library furniture to house the holy scriptures." This cabinet likely housed a large format concertinaed manuscript, most typically an illustrated edition of the Phra Malai. That legend that recounts the adventures of a meritorious monk, the Venerable Malai, who journeys to the many Buddhist hells and heavens, so gaining an understanding of the true nature of the Buddhism. The text was popular for recitation at funerals. This cabinet is decorated front and back with combatant scenes from the Ramakien, the Thai version of the Indian epic, the Ramayana.