Replica of Angkor Wat

Keywords : Wat Phra Sri Rattanasatsadaram, Wat Phra Kaew,

Site common name	Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram
Site alternative name	Temple of the Emerald Buddha
Type of artwork	Sculpture
Sub district	Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang
District	Khet Phra Nakhon
Province	Bangkok
Region	Central
Country	Thailand
Geographic Coordinates Decimal degree	Lat : 13.751735 Long : 100.492377
Geographic Coordinates UTM	Zone : 47 P Hemisphere : N E : 661350.8 N : 1520768.63
Place of artwork	Position of Artifact On a superimposed base, between Phra Mondop and Phra Siratana Chedi

History of production

In 1867, King Rama IV commissioned Phra Samphopphai to reproduce the Angkor Wat and make a replica at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This incident was mentioned in the royal annals along with his reasons for the Angkor Wat’s duplication as follows:

“…on the 13^th waning day of the 3^rd lunar month, 1866, the King ordered Phra Samphopphai to make a copy of the Angkor Wat and would have a miniature built in Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram in a bid to show this spectacular art object which is made of solely stone. Phra Samphopphai came back on the 9^th waxing moon day of the 7^th lunar month of the same year and told the King that he drew pictures of the sanctuary and its cloisters…”

Phra Samphopphai, the artist who was responsible of the duplication, described architectural elements of the Khmer edifice in detail after his intensive exploration according to in the same annals. However, the replica was finished in the reign of King Rama V. In 1882, Mom Chao Prawit Chumsai, the director of Department of Stone Carving and Traditional Arts, made the replica on the occasion of centenary celebrations of Rattanakosin.

Production process

Plaster casting

Conservation

Full restoration during the bicentenary celebration of Rattanakosin in 1982.

Art

The replica of Angkor Wat was built in a square plan. The main tower, the highest building at the centre of the plan, was built on three descending levels in a cloistered enclosure order. Each cloister or gallery consists of columns and connecting roof. A gopura or entrance is in the middle of each side of the galleries, the 4 corners feature superimposed pediments. Since it is not an exact replication, the proportion and details of the replica are different from the original sanctuary: the tired roofs of the main tower and subordinate towers are those of pagodas in Thai arts.

Key academic information

King Mongkut or King Rama IV wished to build a replica of Angkor Wat at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha so that Thai people could see the Khmer sanctuary made of stone. The sanctuary showcases the architectural features of Cambodia which was Siam’s vassal state at that time. The construction of the replica finished in the next reign. King Rama IV’s wish to duplicate the Angkor Wat of at Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram was developed after the King’s unfulfilled wishes to take down some Khmer sanctuaries and rebuild them at some specific places; for example, Phra Nakhon Khiri and Wat Pathumwanaram Temple. The wishes couldn’t be made because many government officials responsible to the mission were killed or injured and the stone sanctuaries were too large to take down or well rebulid. King Rama IV thus canceled his order and requested that a replica of Angkor Wat be built at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This might be duplication of the national sacred shrine of Cambodia to be alongside the counterpart of Siam.

Period

Historical Period

Art period

Rattanakosin

Age

25th Buddhist century

Religion

Brahmanism-Hinduism

Religion and belief

Brahmanism

Related artwork

The Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Type of License	Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)
Rights	Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre
Date of record creation	2016-06-15
Record creator	Patsaweesiri Premkulanan
Bibliography	ทิพากรวงศมหาโกษาธิบดี, เจ้าพระยา. พระราชพงศาวดารกรุงรัตนโกสินทร์ รัชกาลที่ 4. กรุงเทพฯ : กรมศิลปากร, 2548. ดร.พัสวีสิริ เปรมกุลนันท์. “ศิลปกรรมแบบเขมรในพระราชประสงค์รัชกาลที่ 4” วารสารมหาวิทยาลัยศิลปากร. ปีที่ 34 ฉบับที่ 3 (กันยายน-ธันวาคม 2557), หน้า 65-84. กรมศิลปากร. จดหมายเหตุการบูรณะปฏิสังขรณ์วัดพระศรีรัตนศาสดารามและพระบรมมหาราชวัง ในการฉลองพระนครครบ 200 ปี พุทธศักราช 2525 : ภาคที่ 1 วัดพระศรีรัตนศาสดาราม. กรุงเทพฯ : กรมศิลปากร, 2525. สุภัทรดิศ ดิศกุล, หม่อมเจ้า. ประวัติวัดพระศรีรัตนศาสดาราม. กรุงเทพฯ : สำนักพระราชวัง, 2534.