Medieval Khmer Banners

Medieval Khmer Banners

These are banners I made in Corel Draw. They are loosely based on the types shown in the "Armies of Angkor" book which uses the sculptures on the walls at Angkor Wat (and other palaces) to analyse the Medieval Khmer army. The colours are speculative. In some cases I have done different colours on each side, which might not be correct but I think would make for colourful armies! The standard bearers were apparently almost like gymnasts in that they seemed to balance the banners on their chin or forehead or finger tips rather than carry it in the rather staid fashion of European standard bearers. Of course, they would have been made of silk on thin poles and so very light. The impression I get is that there were a great many banner bearers accompanying the army. 

I am intending to make Khmer banner bearers - in a range of acrobatic poses - for my Garden of Kama range, and it was for that purpose that I made these banners.

Please let me know what you think. These are simple designs. There are other, more elaborate patterns shown in the book. These are formatted for A3 paper. The intent was to use thin wire (as in North Star or Warlord Games spears.) The jpegs above are probably bit low rez but the full version can be downloaded from the link below:

Khmer Banners 

B is for Banner Bearers

Excerpted from the Armies of Angkor, by Michel Jacq-Hergoualc'h 

Khmer banner bearers to be exact. One of the factions from the Garden of Kama setting is largely based upon the medieval Khmer armies as detailed in the book this illustration is taken from: The Armies of Angkor: Military Structure and Weaponry of the Khmers, by Michel Jacq-Hergoualc'h. 

According to this work the armies were accompanied by large numbers of musicians as well as these acrobatic banner bearers who are shown balancing the banners on forehead, chin and - if the illustration is to be believed - lower back! (In this case the illustration is a reproduction of a carving at the palace of Angkor Wat.)

A modern-day variant of flag balancing is still practiced in various areas in SE Asia. 

For the Garden of Kama setting I have commissioned some banner bearers to follow behind the army. At the same time I've been trying my hand at drawing up some banners in Corel Draw...

I've made over 60 designs so far. Each banner is 90mm tall before being put on a pole. The intent is to get the figures sculpted with the banner-base as part of the figure - on the forehead or chin, for example. That will provide a point to drill a support hole with a pin vise to allow the banner to be attached. I've done so many designs because I want each unit to be accompanied by a party of banner bearers, with each banner being different.

In addition to making for a colourful display, there could be a practical benefit to mark casualties (as in Hail Caesar, for example) by removing a banner for each "hit" the unit takes.