Connecting block

Keywords : Buddha image, Dharmacakra, The National Museum Phra Pratom Chedi

Site common name	Phrapathom Chedi National Museum
Type of artwork	Sculpture
Sub district	Phra Pathom Chedi
District	Mueang Nakhon Pathom
Province	Nakhon Pathom
Region	Central
Country	Thailand
Geographic Coordinates Decimal degree	Lat : 13.818427 Long : 100.060937
Geographic Coordinates UTM	Zone : 47 P Hemisphere : N E : 614666.73 N : 1527898.98
Place of artwork	In the exhibition hall

History of production	The exact age of the base is unknown, but its characteristics can be convincingly dated back to the Dvaravati period.
Size	Height 60 cm; width 111 cm.
Art	The connecting block is utterly ruined. Made of stone, the connecting block is a square hunk of stone with a through hole in the middle and serves to connect the Dharmacakra to the pillar. The four sides of the block depict the First Sermon and are in s state of disrepair. Only one side gives details adequate for studying. The Buddha is seated in the European style on the throne, his right hand is showing preaching gesture, and his left hand is placed on the lap. Five Brahmins sitting below on the left hand side of the Buddha might possibly represent the Five Disciples before Buddhist ordination; while, on the right side, five Buddhist monks are sitting there, convincingly considered as the Five Disciples after entering monkhood. The figures right behind the Five Disciples on both sides could be deities and the Brahma devas.
Key academic information	The connecting .block depicting the Buddha’s First Sermon is a great masterpiece of Dvaravati art. It showcases the superb craftsmanship and also shows that the people of Dvaravati clearly saw the connection between Dharmacakras and the First Sermon.
Notice	The faces of the Five Disciples before and after entering monkhood are distinctly different, that is, before Buddhist ordination, they look gloomy, i.e. having protuberant eyes, frowning eyebrows, and lips pressed together. On the other hand, becoming monks, their eyes are looking down towards the floor, and, with the monobrow, they’re wearing a thin smile. This might be the artist’s attempts to express the Eye of Wisdom, namely the deep delight at enlightenment on Dharma.
Period	Historical Period
Art period	Dvaravati
Age	12th -16th centuries BE.
Religion	Buddhism
Sect	Theravada
Religion and belief	Theravada

Type of License	Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)
Rights	Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre
Date of record creation	2015-08-19
Record creator	Rungroj Thamrungraeng
Bibliography	ธนิต อยู่โพธิ์, ธรรมจักร. กรุงเทพฯ : กรมศิลปากร, 2508. ผาสุข อินทราวุธ, ทวารวดี การศึกษาเชิงวิเคราะห์จากหลักฐานทางโบราณคดี. กรุงเทพฯ : อักษรสมัย, 2542. ศักดิ์ชัย สายสิงห์, ศิลปะทวารวดี วัฒนธรรมพุทธศาสนายุคแรกเริ่มในดินแดนไทย. กรุงเทพฯ : เมืองโบราณ, 2547. สรัญญา สุริยรัตนกร และคณะ, พิพิธภํณฑสถานแห่งชาติ พระปฐมเจดีย์. กรุงเทพฯ : กรมศิลปากร, 2542.