A collection of over 20 essays by the world's leading authorities of the history, culture and archaeology of Vietnam. Covering over 2,000 years of the history of Vietnam, which absorbed Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic cultures. An academic companion to 'From the Red River to the Mekong Delta'.
Unfurling Dragon The Multicultural Art of Vietnam is a companion volume to From the Red River to the Mekong Delta ISBN 9786164510722. A collection of over 20 essays from the world's leading authorities on the art, history or archaeology of Vietnam. From the Bronze Age lowlanders who settled the Red River Valley, the technologically advanced people in the 10th century who stopped a Chinese fleet and declared sovereignty, a Buddhist state that would continue to expand southwards to dominate the long established and artistically advanced Hindu, Buddhist then Islamic culture of multiple ethnic Cam coastal settlements. Finally, in the 18th century the Nguy?n Dynasty and absorbed the Khmer-Camic culture of the Mekong River Delta.
AUTHOR: Peter D. Sharrock is a senior teaching fellow in the history of art and archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London and module co-convenor of the SOAS-Alphawood Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art. He is a former journalist who covered the Vietnamese-American War. His books include Vibrancy in Stone and Banteay Chhmar for River Books and Descending Dragon, Rising Tiger: A History of Vietnam for Reaktion Books, amongst other titles.
SELLING POINTS: .
The most in-depth analysis of the development of Vietnam from Bronze Age, through the Nguy?n dynasties (erecting many of the temples modern day visitors would visit in Hue), through French colonialists to the modern day .
French colonial historians preserved and researched state annals in old demotic script and created the three world-class museums we have today in Hanoi, DaNang and Ho Chi Minh
181 colour illustrations
Edited by:
Peter D. Sharrock
Imprint: River Books
Country of Publication: Thailand
Dimensions:
Height: 190mm,
Width: 170mm,
Spine: 15mm
Weight: 580g
ISBN: 9786164511064
ISBN 10: 6164511062
Pages: 216
Publication Date: 01 March 2026
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Unspecified
Foreword Peter D. Sharrock 7 Óc Eo and the Mekong Delta 1. Pre-history of Southern Vietnam: Nguyễn Khánh Trung Kiên 14 2. The Nguyễn Delta: Vũ Hồng Liên 20 3. ‘Funan’ and ‘Zhenla’ in Chinese annals: Andrew Chittick 30 4. Óc Eo Culture’s Rise and Fall: John Miksic 40 5. Early Inscriptions from the Mekong Delta: 55 Kunthea Chhom, Arlo Griffiths 6. Buddhist icons of the Delta: Pierre Baptiste 68 7. Viṣṇus of the Delta: Paul Lavy 82 8. Art of Óc Eo in the Đồng Tháp Mười style: Lê Thị Liên 94 9. Gold in Óc Eo culture: Bùi Thị Thúy, Nguyễn Thị Tú Anh, 105 Nguyễn Hoàng Bách Linh 10. Cakras in the Mekong Delta: Pinna Indorf 114 11. Ancient Ornaments in Southern Vietnam: Nguyễn Kim Dung 128 12. Art of the Nguyễn Dynasty: Director Hoàng Anh Tuấn 135 Vietnamese Ceramics 13. A vibrant, untrammelled tradition: John Stevenson 144 14. Vietnamese ceramics 11th to 19th centuries: Phạm Ngọc Uyên 151 15. Campā kiln sites and ceramics: Bùi Minh Trí 159 Campā 16. Cam ritual objects: Anne-Valéry Schweyer 173 17. The South and Nagara Campā: John Whitmore 186 18. Esoteric Buddhist goddesses of the Campā Vijaya state: 199 Trần Kỳ Phương & Nguyễn Thị Tú Anh
Peter D. Sharrock is a senior teaching fellow in the history of art and archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London and module co-convenor of the SOAS-Alphawood Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art. He is a former journalist who covered the Vietnamese-American War. His books include Vibrancy in Stone and Banteay Chhmar for River Books and Descending Dragon, Rising Tiger: A History of Vietnam for Reaktion Books, amongst other titles.
