This large Antique Burmese palm‑leaf Buddhist Manuscript (peisa or paysar) is a traditional Buddhist texts inscribed on long, narrow strips of dried palm leaf. Each leaf is carefully cut, polished, and incised with Pali texts written in Burmese script using a stylus, then darkened with soot or pigment to make the lettering legible.

Each folio is pierced on either end and threaded with a bamboo stick or narrow piece of wood to hold the pages together, allowing the manuscript to be handled as a flexible, layered bundle.

These manuscripts are typically housed between a pair of red lacquered wooden covers, a hallmark of Burmese manuscript culture. The boards are crafted from hardwood and coated with layers of cinnabar‑tinted lacquer, often polished to a smooth, protective finish.

Their purpose is both practical and ritual: they shield the fragile palm leaves from humidity and insects while signifying the sacred status of the text.

Palm‑leaf manuscripts of this type commonly contain Buddhist scriptures, commentaries, Paritta chants, or monastic teachings, and were traditionally produced in monastic scriptoria or commissioned as acts of merit. 

The purpose of the wooden outer covers is both practical and ritual: they shield the fragile palm leaves from humidity and insects while signifying the sacred status of the text.

Condition: Excellent still with original page turner (rare), with age related wear to the gilding around the edges of each page

Age:  19th Century

Size: Depth: 18cm x Length: 49cm x Board width: 7cm – Page Turner 30cm long