A Buddha image in Thailand typically refers to three-dimensional stone, wood, clay, or metal cast images of the Buddha. While there are such figures in all regions where Buddhism is commonly practiced, the appearance, composition and position of the images vary greatly from country to country in Buddhist art.
During the Dvaravati period (seventh through eleventh centuries), there were two factions of Buddhism practiced in the region that now encompasses present day Thailand, namely Mahayana and Theravada. The types of images constructed during this era reflects the distinction. Much of the basis for the Buddhist artwork of the Dvaravati period was influence from Buddhist art in India, including the Amaravati school and Gupta styles, although there was also local and Khmer influence. Such images include the following classical archetypes:
Sri Vijaya images are found in Southern Thailand Malay Peninsula. They were created between the eighth and thirteenth centuries. Typically, they reflect the teachings of the Mahayana school of Buddhism, which often emphasized the veneration of the sacred figure of Boddhisattvas. The Srivijayan art are noted for its naturalistic style, ideal body proportions, natural pose and body elegance, and richly adorned jewelries, akin to Indonesian Javanese Buddhist art.
A famous example of Sri Vijayan art is the bronze torso statue of Boddhisattva Padmapani (Avalokiteshvara), 8th century CE Srivijayan art, from Chaiya District, Surat Thani, Southern Thailand. The statue demonstrate the influence of Central Java art (Shailendra art) . In 1905 Prince Damrong Rajanubhab removed the statue from Wat Wiang, Chaiya, Surat Thani to Bangkok National Museum, Thailand.
Although some of Sri Vijayan Buddhist image were made of bronze and stone, most of Sri Vijaya images were generally made of clay, with less emphasis on durability, as their purpose was to benefit the deceased, rather than perpetuate the teachings of the Buddha.[ citation needed ]
Lopburi images date back to the eleventh century. They are typically found in Northeast Thailand, and their style is essentially similar to Cambodian Buddha images. Such images typically have a cone-shaped cranial protuberance in the form of tiers of lotus petals. The hair depicted in the images is considerably more realistic than the hair of the Dvaravati images, and may be either straight or curly. The face of the Buddha typically has a small smile, while the earlobes are in unusually large proportion relative to the rest of the face, often hanging down nearly to the image's shoulders. A second Lopburi style is the Naga Protected Buddha with the heads of Naga forming a protective taper around the Buddha's head.
Chiang Saen and Lanna images were created in northern Thailand between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. Early images were similar to the Pala style Buddha images of India, with lotus bud or orb shaped hair curls, round faces, narrow lips and prominent chests. Such images were usually in the subduing Mara position, cross-legged, with the soles of the Buddha's feet visible. Many later Chiang Saen and Lanna images began to be constructed from crystals and gemstones.
Two of the most important Buddha images in Thailand, the Emerald Buddha and the Phra Phuttha Sihing are made in the Lanna style.
During the Sukhothai period (fourteenth century), the style of the Thai Buddha images radically changed due to the influx of new ideas from Sri Lankan Buddhism. Buddha images were cast with the intention of depicting superhuman traits of the Buddha, and were designed to express compassion and serenity in posture and facial expression. The Sukhothai period witnessed the innovation of the four modern postures of the Thai Buddha, i.e. walking, standing, sitting and reclining. Images often had a flame-shaped aureole, finely curled hair, a slight smile, broad shoulders and an oval face. A common pose was the subduing Mara, with the Buddha seated on a plain base. Notable variations within the Sukhothai period include the Kamphaengpet, the Phra Buddha Chinnarat (such as the most famous Chinnarat at Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahatat Woramahawihan), and the Wat Ta Kuan groups of images.
Wat Traimit Golden Buddha, which is a famous tourist attraction in Bangkok, is made in the Sukhothai style, so it may indeed date from that period.
There are three categories of U Thong images from the twelfth through fifteenth century in central Thailand. The first such style was a fusion of the Dvaravati and Khmer style images. They would typically adorn a lotus bud aureole and Khmer facial features. The second style was similar to the Lopburi images. The third and most recent U Thong style had considerable influence from the Sukhothai images, but often had hair bands unique to U Thong images.
Ayutthaya images were created between the tenth and eighteenth centuries. They had a unique hair frame and tell-tale narrow carvings above the lips and eyes. Early Ayutthaya images were carved in stone with heavy influence from the Lopburi images. Middle Ayutthaya images were similar to the Sukhothai images, and were in similar poses. During this period, the images were often cast in Bronze, and the size of the images were often large. In the late Ayutthaya period, the images typically depicted the Buddha in royal attire, and the bases of the images bore ornate design.
In modern times, Buddha images are often replicas of images from the Sukhothai and other early periods, often more ornately and elaborately adorned. Faces in new innovative depictions are typically more realistic and human-like. An elongated flame aureole is popular. Robes depicted in modern images often depict floral designs. The Indian Gandhara style, as well as western art have also influenced many of the modern images.
Bunleua Sulilat's concrete sculpture gardens (Buddha Park and Sala Keoku) give an example of contemporary highly creative and unconventional artistic treatment of Buddhist subjects. See also Wat Rong Khun and Sanctuary of Truth.
Wat Phra Kaew, commonly known in English as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and officially as Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. The complex consists of a number of buildings within the precincts of the Grand Palace in the historical centre of Bangkok. It houses the statue of the Emerald Buddha, which is venerated as the country's palladium.
Sukhothai Historical Park covers the ruins of Sukhothai, literally 'dawn of happiness', capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries, in north central Thailand. It is near the city of Sukhothai, capital of Sukhothai Province.
Ayutthaya Historical Park covers the ruins of the old city of Ayutthaya, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province, Thailand. The city of Ayutthaya was founded by King Ramathibodi I in 1351, though it is likely to be significantly older, based on evidence showing that the area was already populated during the Mon Dvaravati period. Sources further mention that around 850 AD, the Khmers occupied the area and established a stronghold there, naming it Ayodhya, after one of the holiest Hindu cities in India of the same name. The early history of Ayutthaya is connected to this Khmer settlement. Additionally, Prince Damrong has also attested to the existence of a city named Ayodhya, founded by the Khmers ruling from Lopburi at the point where the three rivers meet. An excavation map shows traces of an ancient baray close to the southwestern tip of Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon, which could have been built on a former important Khmer temple complex.
Traditional Thai art is primarily composed of Buddhist art and scenes from the Indian epics. Traditional Thai sculpture almost exclusively depicts images of the Buddha, being very similar with the other styles from Southeast Asia, such as Khmer. Traditional Thai paintings usually consist of book illustrations, and painted ornamentation of buildings such as palaces and temples. Thai art was influenced by indigenous civilizations of the Mon and Khmer. By the Sukothai and Ayutthaya period, thai had developed into its own unique style and was later further influenced by the other Asian styles, mostly by Sri Lankan and Chinese. Thai sculpture and painting, and the royal courts provided patronage, erecting temples and other religious shrines as acts of merit or to commemorate important events.
Wat Pho, also spelled Wat Po, is a Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace. Known also as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan. The more commonly known name, Wat Pho, is a contraction of its older name, Wat Photaram.
Phra Pathommachedi or Phra Pathom Chedi is a Buddhist stupa in Thailand. The stupa is located in the Wat Phra Pathommachedi Ratcha Wora Maha Wihan (Thai: วัดพระปฐมเจดีย์ราชวรมหาวิหาร), a temple in the town center of Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand. Phra Pathommachedi is the tallest stupa in Thailand. The top of its spire reaches 120.45 meters, with the base circumference of 235.50 meters.
Buddhist art is visual art produced in the context of Buddhism. It includes depictions of Gautama Buddha and other Buddhas and bodhisattvas, notable Buddhist figures both historical and mythical, narrative scenes from their lives, mandalas, and physical objects associated with Buddhist practice, such as vajras, bells, stupas and Buddhist temple architecture. Buddhist art originated in the north of the Indian subcontinent, in modern India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, with the earliest survivals dating from a few centuries after the historical life of Siddhartha Gautama from the 6th to 5th century BCE.
Thai temple art and architecture is the art and architecture of Buddhist temples in Thailand. Temples are known as wats, from the Pāḷi vāṭa, meaning "enclosure". A temple has an enclosing wall that divides it from the secular world.
The Bangkok National Museum is the main branch museum of the National Museums in Thailand and also one of the largest museums in Southeast Asia. It features exhibits of Thai art and history. It occupies the former palace of the vice king, set between Thammasat University and the National Theater, facing Sanam Luang.
Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat (Thai: วัดพระศรีรัตนมหาธาตุ; "Temple of the Great Jewelled Reliquary"), colloquially referred to as Wat-Phra-Sri or Wat Yai (Thai: วัดใหญ่; "Big Temple"), is a Buddhist temple (wat) in Phitsanulok Province, Thailand, where it is located on east bank of Nan River, near Naresuan Bridge and opposite Phitsanulok Provincial Hall. It is about 337 km from Bangkok.
The Si Satchanalai Historical Park is a historical park in Si Satchanalai district, Sukhothai Province, northern Thailand. The park covers the ruins of Si Satchanalai and Chaliang. Si Satchanalai, which literally means "City of good people", was founded in 1250 as the second center of the Sukhothai Kingdom and as a residence of the crown prince in the 13th and 14th centuries.
The Lavo Kingdom was a political entity (mandala) on the left bank of the Chao Phraya River in the Upper Chao Phraya valley from the end of Dvaravati civilization, around the 7th century, until 1388. The original center of Lavo civilization was Lavo, but the capital shifted southward to Ayodhaya, the port city on the right side of the Ayutthaya island around the 11th century, whereupon the state was incorporated into the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 14th century.
The Golden Buddha, officially titled Phra Phuttha Maha Suwanna Patimakon, commonly known in Thai as Phra Sukhothai Traimit, is a gold Maravijaya Attitude seated Buddharupa statue, with a weight of 5.5 tonnes. It is located in the temple of Wat Traimit, Bangkok, Thailand. At one point in its history the statue was covered with a layer of stucco and coloured glass to conceal its true value, and it remained in this condition for almost 200 years, ending up as what was then a pagoda of minor significance. During relocation of the statue in 1955, the plaster was chipped off and the gold revealed.
Wat Suan Dok, also known as Wat Buppharam is a Buddhist temple (Wat) in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. It is a Royal Temple of the Third Class. The temple is on Suthep Road, approximately one kilometre west of Suan Dok gate at the west side of the moat.
Phitsanulok is an important, historic city in lower northern Thailand and is the capital of Phitsanulok Province. Phitsanulok is home to Naresuan University and Pibulsongkram Rajabhat University, as well as to a major Royal Thai Army base. As of 2019, the population of the city was 66,106.
Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan is the main Buddhist temple (wat) of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province in southern Thailand. The main stupa of the temple, Phra Borommathat Chedi, was built by King Sri Dhammasokaraja in the early-13th century CE to establish a symbol for the Theravada Buddhism sect in the province. The temple is believed to house a tooth of Gautama Buddha.
Dvaravati art is a form of artistic work originating from Mon. Dvaravati flourished from the Dvaravati Mon ancient artifacts are in present-day Thailand and Burma, Mon states to the west in southern Myanmar (Burma) and with the Mon state in northern Thailand. Dvaravati experienced political domination by neighbouring peoples on three occasions: in the 10th century, when the Burmese conquered the Mon state of Thaton west of the Tenasserim Yoma; from the 11th to the 13th century, when the Khmer Empire (Cambodia) arose in the east; and finally, in the late 13th century, when Dvaravati was absorbed by the Thai empire.
The Phra Phuttha Sihing is a highly revered image of the Gautama Buddha in Bangkok, Thailand, second in importance only after the Emerald Buddha. The image is currently housed at the Phutthaisawan Hall, now the Bangkok National Museum. The image was brought to Bangkok from Wat Phra Singh, Chiang Mai in 1795 by Viceroy Maha Sura Singhanat, the brother of King Rama I.
Phra Prang Sam Yot, also known as Phra Prang Sam Yod, is a 13th-century temple in Lopburi, Thailand. The temple is currently a popular tourist destination.
Wat Na Phra Men, also written as Wat Na Phramen is a historic active Buddhist temple in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province. Considered as part of Ayutthaya Historical Park and known as a very beautiful temple.
