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Sunanda Monument

Keywords :

Artwork alternative namePhra Nang Ruelom Pyramid
Site common namePliew Waterfall National Park
Site alternative namePliew Waterfall
Type of artworkArchitecture
Sub districtKhom Bang
DistrictMueang Chanthaburi
ProvinceChanthaburi
RegionEast
CountryThailand
Geographic Coordinates
Decimal degree		Lat : 12.5261546
Long : 102.178528
Geographic Coordinates
UTM		Zone : 48 P
Hemisphere : N
E : 193352.65
N : 1386374.41
Place of artworkPliew Waterfall National Park

History of production

King Rama V built the monument in 1881 AD as the recollection of his queen, Sunanda Kumarirattana, who passed away from shipwreck in 1880 AD. He chose to built the monument here because his wife and he once visited the waterfall in 1874 AD and were impressed by its natural beauty.

Art

The monument is a cutting stone pyramid in square plan and has King Rama V handwriting inscription at the centre.

Key academic information

The Sunanda Monument or Phra Nang Ruelom Pyramid is situated in Pliew Waterfall National Park. The architectural style came from King Rama V’s idea that other shapes might not be lasting because the spot was in the forest with no staff to look after, thus the pyramidal shape should be the best choice when the Egyptian pyramids that could stand throughout a long time. The King named the monument “Sunandanusawari (Sunanda Monument)”. The Queen Sunanda’s relics were stored inside the pyramid which shows the further architectural style and conception of the storage, which had been developed from the stupa.

Age20th century AD
Religion and beliefThe Royal Court Custom

Type of LicenseAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)
RightsPrincess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre
Date of record creation2015-06-17
Record creatorPatsaweesiri Premkulanan
Bibliography

จุลจอมเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว, พระบาทสมเด็จพระ. พระราชหัตถเลขาพระบาทสมเด็จพระจุลจอมเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว เมื่อเสด็จประพาสหัวเมืองชายทะเลตะวันออกในปีมะเมีย พ.ศ. 2425 กับปีมะแม พ.ศ. 2426 และปีวอก พ.ศ.2427 รวม 3 คราว. พระนคร : โรงพิมพ์โสภณพิพรรฒธนากร, 2470.