In commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the International Council of Museums, the National council of museums of Thailand arranged an exhibition of masterpieces from private collections at the Bangkok National Museum from the 6th March-6th April 1968. Many famous art collectors in Bangkok participated in this exhibition from H.M. the King downwards and it was attended by 77,235 visitors. Art specimens of the two following periods, the early Hindu images in Thailand and Srivijai will be described in this volume.

The late Professor Dupont's great book has been warmly welcomed not only by specialists in Southeast Asian art and archaeology throughout the world , but also by many members of the general public in Thailand, among whom the interest in archaeology is steadily growing.
The book is dedicated by the author to his distinguished teacher, Alfred Foucher. A note by Madame Dupont thanks whose who helped to prepare the work for publication after her husband's death. Then, after a short preface by the author, comes the text itself, consisting of 9 chapters (almost 300 pages). Finally there are inventories of the objects discovered in the excavations of Davaravati sites conducted by the author; indexes; bibliography; etc. There are 24 pages of drawings, plans and maps, and 541 photographs. He ends with a briefer summary of the enduring influence of certain other types of Dvaravti image, and of Dvaravati architecture associated with the Theravada.