The Upland Regions of Eastern Burma and Northern Thailand
The arts of the upland regions of eastern Burma (Shan State) and northern Thailand are less well known and less studied that those of central Burma and central Thailand. The gift art objects from the Doris Duke collection gives the museum the opportunity to present fine examples of the arts of these areas.
Because of the changing political fortunes of the upland regions, as well as considerable movement of artists and artisans from one region to another, the arts of these areas show connections with those of both central Burma and central Thailand, while retaining many characteristic features.
These upland areas are inhabited by peoples who speak languages related to Thai. Like the Burmese and the central Thai they follow Theravada Buddhism, but at the same time they share certain customs and ways of life that distinguish them, to some extent, from their neighbors. For example, their regions were sometimes cooler than the lowlands of central Thailand and southern Burma, necessitating different sorts of clothing. The climate also permitted growing crops such as tea that did not flourish in the lowlands.
Because their territories were far inland, the Shan and northern Thai peoples were isolated from the international maritime trade on which Bangkok, Rangoon, and other coastal cities thrived. This also meant that European goods, ideas, and styles took longer to reach the Shan and northern Thai areas. But the location far inland also gave some protection from British and French military forces arriving by sea.
The degree of political independence of the Shan and northern Thai areas varied through the centuries. Often local princes had to acknowledge the authority of either the Burmese or the central Thai capital, but usually this relationship was largely ceremonial. As long as sufficient gifts were sent to the capital, and princesses were regularly provided as wives for the far-off kings, localities could keep a good deal of control of their own affairs.
In some periods, however, the Shan and northern Thai peoples had sufficient strength to pressure their neighbors, or to form powerful and influential kingdoms. The kingdom of Lan Na, centered at the major northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, saw a brilliant cultural flowering in the 1400s but was later controlled by both the Burma and Siam at different times.
