Synopsis of A POCKET GUIDE to CAMBODIAN SILK

Synopsis of A Pocket Guide to Cambodian Silk – 2024 Edition, for Travelers, Collectors and Museums (by Cornelia Bagg Srey)

Written for Apsara Authority (Government of Cambodia)

Cambodian silk is legendary. Nearly every one of the millions of tourists who visits Cambodia each year has heard of it. They want to see it, learn more about it, buy some for themselves, and take some home for the really special people in their lives.

But most tourists never even see it. They’re sold what Kikuo Morimoto called, “fake silk”. Touristware that is not silk, not made in Cambodia, not hand woven, and not even natural fiber.

This book shows visitors in over 150 color photographs what Cambodian silk is, and tells them where to find it and how to select it. Even how to get to weaving villages. It includes photos of Western-style clothing made from unpatterned, plaid, brocade and ikat silk - from hiking scarves to evening wraps to jackets for wearing to the office. And it explains why Cambodian silk is a “miracle fabric” - warm in winter but cool in summer, always in style, so durable that it lasts just about forever, and ecologically friendly and sustainable.

In response to requests from collectors and museums, Cornelia Bagg Srey has included information never published before. Sampot hol's evolution from Indian patola. Linguistic evidence that tells us how chorabab reached Cambodian shores. What the women on the walls of Angkor Wat wore tells us about them, nine hundred years later. And what Suryavarman II’s and Jayavarman VII’s queens wore.

The author wrote the book because Cambodian silk, especially chorabab brocade, is dying out. She thought that if each of Cambodia’s millions of tourists were to buy just one piece, that would same this magnificent artform – part of the soul of Cambodia.

The book can be ordered from www.Amazon.com. Amazon will ship it to Cambodia if a precise and accurate delivery address is entered.

The author’s website is www.SinghaBooks.com.