Photographs by 19th-century traveller John Thomson will be exhibited at the Chester Beatty Library this spring. Thomson spent ten years (from 1862) in east Asia, where he documented local life and customs. During this time, he was granted unique access to the royal court of King Mongkut in Siam (now Thailand). He was later the first photographer to visit the ruins of Angkor Wat in the Cambodian jungle, then under Siam’s control. ‘Siam Through the Lens of John Thomson’ features twenty-four compelling images of mid-19th century Thailand.
Until 3 Jan 2021
