Collections

Photolibrary Collections

The EFEO's collection of photographs and glass plates constitutes an exceptional documentary resource (archaeology, statuary, architecture, epigraphy, ethnography, etc.) covering many different countries (Cambodia, Vietnam, India, China, Thailand, Laos, etc.). Based on photographs taken during archaeological excavations and expeditions carried out by the School since 1910, the collection gradually expanded thanks to a number of gifts (the Dalet, Bacot, Boulbet, and Bénisti holdings, among others). The photographs, most of them as yet unpublished, will all eventually be digitised.

The photographic collection is of major historic interest. Some of the images feature archaeological sites and monuments before they suffered the irreparable effects of war and pillage; used in conjunction with diaries from archaeological excavations, they make it possible to recreate the way in which restoration work and research was conducted on a day-to-day basis.

Some figures:

  • CAMBODIA: 30,000 indexed digital photos (archaeology, architecture, statuary, iconography, epigraphy, ethnography, etc.);
  • VIETNAM: approximately 7,000 photos (archaeology, iconography, museum collections, etc.) as well as 1,500 indexed digital photos of the Champa region;
  • CHINA: approximately 3,000 photos (archaeology, ethnology, art, museography, graphic documents, etc.);
  • INDIA: several thousand photos;
  • LAOS: 3,000 photos, of which approximately 1,200 dealing with ethnology;
  • SIAM: approximately 2,000 photos (archaeology, various sites, museum collections, etc.)
  • 7,000 glass plates - mostly of Cambodia and Vietnam - have been digitised (the H. Marchal, H. Parmentier, J. Bacot, L. Finot, Ch. Carpeaux collections).
EFEO News
Cerangkor-OnFire archaeological experimentation project
Siem Reap, Cambodia, 09 December 2019
As part of the Cerangkor-OnFire archaeological experimentation project organized at the EFEO Center in Siem Reap, a ceramic firing in a dragon kiln replica is being organized on December 9. The public firing will take place at 6pm around a buffet to which you are warmly invited.In addition to providing our knowledge of this Angkorian industry, these experiments constitute a unique didactic tool for students who will have to search equivalent structures.

Details about the project and event on the website and Facebook page.
In Memoriam
04 December 2019
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Jean Deloche, who died on December 3, 2019 in Pondicherry.

In Memoriam
Buddhist scribal practices in a transcultural perspective
France, Paris, 25 November 2019
This international workshop is a collaborative effort organized by the École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO-Paris) and the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC-Hamburg), which involves scholars in Buddhist studies, codicology, and art history to analyze the connecaons between scribal pracaces agested in various Central and East-Asian Buddhist manuscript cultures, with a focus on mutual influences between them regarding the use of specific ornamental and/or structural marks. Read program here
Conference
Paris, France, 07 November 2019
Alain Arrault gives a lecture on religious statuary in China, Japan and Korea on Thursday, November 7, at 2pm, Salon Pelliot of the Hotel Heidelbach.
This conference is organized by the Société des amis du Musée Guimet, for more details follow the link.
Signing of an MOU with the Institute of Archeology of the National Cheng Kung University
Tainan, Taiwan, 05 November 2019
On November 5, 2019, the EFEO Director signed an MOU with the Institute of Archeology of the National Cheng Kung University in Tainan (Taiwan).