Palm-leaf manuscripts

A collection of sixty-two palm-leaf manuscript books. Products of south and southeast Asia, they "are composed of several processed palm leaves with a text, inscribed with a metal stylus, which is rendered more visible by being filled by a carbon-based ink. The leaves are normally held together by means a cord laced through holes made on each leaf, the whole manuscript often being protected by two wooden boards." (Weston, 2025)

The manuscripts derive from a variety of sources and date from the 17th to the late 19th century.  Most were at some point in the possession of Christian missionaries, colonial officials, or members of the armed forces, who conveyed them to Europe. They include twelve items once owned by Professor Theophilus (Gottlieb) Siegfried Bayer (1694-1738), acquired in the eighteenth century by Dr William Hunter (1718-83).

How to find material in the Palm-leaf manuscripts collection