The great Emperor Buddha

Built in the reign of King Rama IIIBuilt in the reign of King Rama III

Bronzer casting/ gold leaf plated

The Buddha image in the attitude of meditation sitting cross-legs with one top of another displaying the attitude of subduing Mara. The image has a slim body, oval- round face, small hair curl, flame-like halo, curve eyebrows, small eyes, the lips are slightly curve until it is almost straight. The face looks like a manikin and this is the specific style of Buddha images in the reign of King Rama III. The image wears jewels such as the crown, necklace, breast chain, armlet, bracelet, and anklet.

With the permission of King Rama III, the bejewled Buddha was done for the chapel of Wat Nang Nong. The Buddha image was casted with bronze. Each jewel was casted separately so they can taken apart. This is an important characteristic of the artisan in the reign of King Rama III. For the crown, the history says that King Rama III gave it to place on top of the Prang at Wat Arun Ratchawararam. The new crown was then created to give back to the Buddha at Wat Nang Nong. The Buddha image at Wat Nang Nong is assumably associated with the Buddhist history of suffering Phraya Jambupati or Jambupati-Sutra. The Buddha image was created by the Buddha to reduce the stubbornness of Phraya Jambupati and to be the great emperor of every region. This is related to the painting inside the chapel that displays the same episode.

ศักดิ์ชัย สายสิงห์. งานช่าง สมัยพระนั่งเกล้าฯ. กรุงเทพฯ : มติชน, 2551.

ศักดิ์ชัย สายสิงห์.พระพุทธรูปในประเทศไทย : รูปแบบ พัฒนาการและความเชื่อของคนไทย. กรุงเทพฯ : ภาควิชาประวัติศาสตร์ศิลปะ คณะโบราณคดี มหาวิทยาลัยศิลปากร, 2556.