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Arts in Southeast Asia Database
PaintingThe twelve-month royal ceremonies mural painting
The mural painting depicting ‘Twelve-Month Royal Ceremonies’ was painted on the panel between each window. The remarkable mural painting was influenced by western art in terms of use of horizontal lines, perspectives, small portraits, and realistic landscape. The buildings in the painting imitate real buildings in the Grand Palace as well as the neighbourhood such as Rajaworadit pier, and some pavilions or throne halls which were already destroyed or ruined or disappeared. The mural painting also displays a group of soldiers wearing uniform adopted from western style, along with Thai and foreigner people dressing in fashionable clothes.
ArchitectureDemocracy Monument
1. The wings are 24 m. high, and this is also the radius of the base of the monument, marking the fact that the 1932 coup took place on the 24th of June. 2. The centre piece of the monument is a carved representation of a palm-leaf manuscript box holding the Thai Constitution of 1932 on top of two golden offering bowls above a round turret. The 3 m. height refers to month 3 in Thai culture ( June) when the first Coup d’Etat occurred in Thailand. 3 The central turret is 3 m. high, representing the month of June, which is the third lunar month. There were originally 75 small cannons around the outer ring of the monument, representing the year of the coup, 2475 B.E. 4. The bas-reliefs at the base of the monument are propagandistic in their design. They depict the armed forces both as champions of democracy and as the personification of the Thai people. 5. Six swords that are surrounding the monument refer to the Six Rules of People’s Party6. Fountains in the form of naga face outwards at the base of the 4 wings. The naga or serpent refers to the serpent year in which regime change occurred.
ArchitectureMonument of King Rama I
The statue of King Rama I is seated on a throne, and his face turns towards Triphet road. The King dons Thai Royal attire with the Royal Regalia, and a hat. His hands are holding a sword lying on his lap. A marble wall was at the backside with a faux door. Behind the statue, 2 columns bear a pediment adorned with garlands, and an Unalom sign is carved above. The wall behind bears an inscription telling the foundation of the monument. The wall was later elevated. The floral and ornament offering pedestal trays, flanked by 2 fountains, stand in front of the statue. A low concrete fence with rounded columns and some Thai patterns is located in front of the statue. There is also a bas-relief crafted in Privy Seal of the Chakri Dynasty, flanked by 2 elephants.
ArchitecturePhra Maha Chedi Si Ratchakan
Phra Maha Chedi Sisanphetchadayan, Phra Maha Chedi Dilokthammakaroknitan and Phra Maha Chedi Munibatborikhan are all Chedi Songkhrueang of redented Chedi on a redented tiered pedestal which achieved its popularity during the reign of King Rama 3 with some distinctive artistic traits of those of the late Ayutthaya period as follows: the lower architectural elements include multi-tiered pedestals with lion-legged corners (Than Singha or lion bases) and Bua Khlum or lotus petal mouldings. The Gharbhaya (hemispherical domes) in shape of a bell with four-redented corners, and superimposed lotus petal mouldings, conical spires, single bead mouldings, and upmost conical spires. All of the architectural elements are adorned with glazed porcelain and pottery with different patterns. Phra Maha Chedi Sisanphetchadayan is ornamented with green glazed pottery, Phra Maha Chedi Dilokthammakaroknitan is decorated with white glazed porcelain, and Phra Maha Chedi Munibatborikhan is adorned with yellow glazed pottery. The Chedi erected by King Rama IV ทรงสร้าง a redented Chedi, decorated with deep blue glazed porcelain. This type of Chedi had been popular since the mid-Ayutthaya period onwards.
Architecturethe ordination hall of Wat Phrachetuphon Wimonmangkhararam
The Ubosot is a masonry building in traditional Thai style. Its pediment is decorated with traditional Thai roof finials, gilded and ornamented with glass mosaics. The building has square masonry supporting columns without lotus caapital. The boundary wall’s exterior framings surrounding the Ubosot are decorated with marble bas-relief sculptures depicting Ramayana or Rammakian. The doors’ exterior panels are decorated with pearl inlay depicting figures of character in Rammakian, while the interior panels are decorated with lacquer works depicting fans of rank for Phra Rachakhana, Phra Khru Sanyabat and Phra Khru Thananukrom belonging to the Gamavasi and the Arannavasi sections from both pronvinces and bangkok. The mural painting of the Ubosot is painted: the panels above the interior window casings depict Mahosadha pandit or Mahā Ummagga Jātaka, the walls between door and window casings display the stories of the top disciples, and the interior window panels are decorated with lacquered position seals of the monk leaders in the cities and in the provinces during the reign of King Rama III. The exterior window panels are carved in Kaeochingduang patterns or overlapping circles and lozenge flowers.
SculptureReclining Buddha
The Buddha lies on his right side or Sihasaiyat. His right hand supports his head supported by a square pillow ornamented with Chinese floral motifs. The Image shows Rattanakosin artistic characteristics, that is, a calm face, eyes looking down towards the floor, arched eyebrows, thin lips, long ears, small ringlet hair curls, an Uṣṇīṣa, and a flame-shaped aureole. Also, the Buddha wears a thin, plain monastic robe along his left arm while exposing his right shoulder. The Sanghati or uppergarment covers his left shoulder along to his navel, and the hem of the uppergarment falls in undulating folds. The ankle-length Antaravasaka lower garment has a front pleat-fold, and the strap of the belt is shown.Both feet of the Buddha is decorated with pearl-inlaid chakra and 108 auspicious illustration motifs. The 180 auspicious illustrations can be categorized as follows: 1. Symbols of fortune and abundance, i.e. Purna-ghata or water pots, twin fish, Swastika, gem garlands, and lotus. 2. Regalia of kings and Cakravartin; for instance, 7 Ratnas, royal regalia, thrones, royal vehicles, etc. 3. Symbols of Loka or spheres according to the Buddhist cosmology; for example, Mount Meru, the Cosmic Ocean, the 4 dvīpas, Kāñcanaparvata or the seven mountains surrounded Mount Meru, the Himavanta Forest, etc.
SculptureYakṣas at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha
The 12 sculptures are made of stucco with colorful glazed porcelain adornments according to Rammakian including different types of crowns, blouses, costumes, pointed sandals, etc. Their bodies were also painted according to the literary work.6 pairs of Yakṣas are as follows: 1.Suriyaphop – Intharachit 2.Mangkonkan – Wirunhok 3.Thotsakhichanthon – Thotsakhiriwan 4.Chakrawat – Atsakanmarasun 5.Thotsakan - Sahatsadecha Maiyarap - Wirunchambang
PaintingPha Taem Prehistoric Color Painting
It can be divided into 4 groups according to the name and the position of the cliff, they are Pha Kham, Pha Taem, Pha Mon Noi, and Pha Mon. They are all facing the east.1. Pha KhamIt shows a painting of 4 large fishes approximately 0.35 - 1.00 meters long written in a red x-ray style to see the internal structure. In addition, there is a painting of an elephant which is much smaller than a fish (about 13 cm) and a painting of a quadruped.2. Pha TaemThere are paintings all along the cliff. They are 180 meters long and about 4 - 5 meters above the ground. There are more than 300 color paintings at Pha Taem. There are paintings created by the rain gouging into the rock creating some lines patterns; some are straight, some are arranged along a straight line, some oblique, some horizontal. They are from 5 - 15 centimeters in height. The remaining section is only about 80 centimeters long and they are possibly some iconic images. Most of the color paintings in this area are written in red, only some are in black and white divided into small sizes of human paintings and only 10 of them were found.Paintings of animals such as elephants, fish, turtles or snapping turtle, dog, cow, chicken or bird etc. are often painted as large as the real thing, especially elephant and fish whose size is up to 4 meters long and about 3 meters high. There are about 30 animal paintings found and both human and animal paintings are often in motion.Object paintings. This could be a fishing tool called a "Toom" and a crossbow or bow that a person is holding.Geometrical motifs. The motifs are in twisted, wavy or zigzag lines that can refer to “water” or a fish trap. They are also in herringbone, geometric, parallel lines that looks like ricefields, etc.Human hands. There are more than 200 hands, both of children and adults. The colors are red, black, and white. All types of paintings are always drawn together, especially the hands that appear in every painting.Most of the paintings are silhouette. Others are outlines and stick men. The human hand paintings are stencils, imprints, and outlines.3. Pha Mon NoiThis section shows a painting of a person about 1.6 meters tall holding a bow aimed at a four-legged animal, possibly a pregnant cow with the body size of 6.4 meters long. Next to that is a painting of a person about 1.2 meters tall chasing a horned four-legged animal which might be a deer that invaded the ricefields. surrounding this group of paintings are paintings of about 20 hands, both left hands and right hands created by putting the paint on the palm then scraping off some of the paint on the fingers and palms and then imprinting the hand on the wall. Next is a painting of three four-legged animals with bloated bellies and it looks like they are pregnant as well. There is a drawing that is similar to the net of an animal trap and also paintings of connected parallel lines. There are, in addition, 15 human hands paintings arranged in long wavy lines. They are similar to the ones of the first group. Paintings of people and animals were painted in red silhouette. It is noteworthy that all types of paintings at Pha Taem and Pha Mon Noi are related. Whether it is a picture of a person and a cow with hands, fish and hands, ‘Toom’ with hands, geometrical motifs of ricefields, people, and deer with hands, or a painting of a person hunting a cow or a deer.4. Pha MonIn this section, there are paintings of people and animals written in red silhouette.In this first group, there is only a painting of a single person and 11 four-legged animals, possibly elephants, cows, dogs and pigs, or sheep or goats, walking in the same direction. (Except for one animal, possibly a dog that is facing the herd)In the second group, there are paintings of about 10 people drawn in silhouette and stickmen. They all look quite realistic, even their calves are aneurysms. An interesting painting of the Pha Mon is the painting of a person wearing a half-calf length skirt standing with arms akimbo, not sure whether it is a woman or a man. This painting is larger than other paintings. Moreover, they are paintings of the right hands of adults, 2 paintings in stencil, 2 imprinted paintings, and 2 imprinted paintings of children hands. It can be noticed that there are always paintings of hands appearing in all 4 groups of paintings. This could refer to a cooperation in doing an activity such as fishing. cultivating, raising animals, or hunting. This shows that the illustrators might be in agricultural society and they may share common belief in fertility.
