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Arts in Southeast Asia Database
ArchitecturePhra That Phnom
Phra That Phnom is a brick stupa in sqaure plan. The anda is not plastered, but decorated by virtual niches and round pilasters. Each corner is decorated by floral-pattern and figure of a man riding an animal. These features can be related to the Mythology of Uranghathat that Umong (Ubmung) was built by four kings. The upper chamber is beneath the square-bell-shaped top, which is the unique element of Lanchang Art.
ArchitecturePhra That Sri Songrak
Phra That Sri Songrak is a brick-and-stucco stupa. The pyramidal platforms are in square plan. while the upper pedestals with a large pointed wire or Bua Khao Prom in multi-edges plan. This wire may be the developement of Ayutthaya Singha pedestal, which is normally under the lotus pedestal. The falling lotus bud has flisked tip, which is known in Lanchang Art as Bua Ngon pedestal. The anda is quite cylindrical in square plan and decorated with stucco sheath at each corner. A small ballang and a cylindrical finial can be compared to the top part of normal bell-shaped stupa in circular plan.
ArchitectureMain Pavilion: Wat Ong Tue
The pavilion in Viang Chan school is characterized by the high-elevated side edge of the roof. The pediment depicts Indra mounting on Erawan in the middle of foliage motifs. The lower part of tympanum is the frieze divided into several small square panels, typical to Viang Chan school. Below the frieze is the double-arched fillet which is the character that share both in Laotian and Lanna art. The elongation of the capital of the columns for balustrade is also one of the characteristics of the school.
ArchitectureHor Pra Kaew
Hor Pra Kaew might have been built in the reign of king Anuwong or before as the plan is very similar to Ubosot of Wat Phra Sri Rattan Sasadaram consisting of the circumambulatory inside Palai. However, it was abandoned when king Anuwong died and was restored again. The pediment that has two panels at the bottom can be compared with the pediment of Oung Teu. This shows that it belongs to Vientiane school of art that was carved much later. The three-headed elephant was the royal synbol of the Laos kingdom before the revolution.
ArchitectureScriptural Hall: Wat Peng
Scriptural hall at Wat Peng is the only genuine Lan Chang scriptural hall that survived that destruction of Vientiane in the reign of king Anuwong. It is a small cemeted-brick building in a rectangular plan. The base is a complex Laotian Bua Khao Prom. The chamber has a door and three highly decorated windows on the other three sides. This is the door of the chamber that has an arch at the top. Inside, there are swans facing in, which was influenced by Lanna art. The top of the Prasat and the keepers are similar to Lanna , too.
ArchitectureScriptural Hall: Wat Peng
Scriptural hall at Wat Peng is the only genuine Lan Chang scriptural hall that survived that destruction of Vientiane in the reign of king Anuwong. It is a small cemeted-brick building in a rectangular plan. The base is a complex Laotian Bua Khao Prom. The chamber has a door and three highly decorated windows on the other three sides. This is the picture of the window arch of the top part of the Prasat. The roof consists of a tier of large sloping roof and the lotus flower shaped base on top. The structure of the Prasat is similar to Lanna art. There are traces of stuccos divided into parts,which might have been the storytelling scences. Now, they all have been flaked off.
ArchitectureStupa: Wat Si Meuang
Stupa at Wat Si Meuang is made of laterite, which is different from stupas in other arts that are normally made of bricks. The remains include the inverted lotus base with the plain middle element decorated with a pointed moulding. This stupa is often mistaken as a Khmer architecture. However, the laterite is smaller than that of Khmer and the use of pointed mouldings consolidates that this is definitely not a Khmer architecture.
ArchitectureThat Luang
The huge mound in the center seems to be the most ancient element of the Stupa. After some renovations, the top element and the subsidiary Stupas were added. These subsidiary Stupas seem to be connected with either the perfections of the Buddha (Paramita or Baramee) or the Tamavimsa paradise. This Stupa was entitled as Lokachulamani, imitating the name of the stupa in the paradise inside which the hairy relics was enshrined, suggests that the city is comparable to the heaven and the king himself is comparable to Indra, the lord of deities.
