Title
Yao painting
Year/Period
c. Daoguang (1821-50) or Xianfeng reigns (1851-61)
Region
Probably north Thailand
Dimension
Image size: L118.0 x W47.0 cm
Accession No.
1999-00136
Collection of
This painting was part of a set of 18 produced for ritual use by the Yao people. It depicts the pantheon of Daoist deities. The reverse of the painting has an inscription with the date and name of the family who commissioned the painting.Sets of paintings were used with banners for the initiation of new male members into the lineage. The Daoism practiced by the Yao is an ancient form dating back to the 13th century and some of their rituals are no longer practiced by other Daoist communities. The Yao is a minority group who migrated into northern Thailand from neighbouring regions during the 18th and 19th centuries.
