Arts in Southeast Asia
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ArchitecturePhra Sri Rattanachedi
Phra Sri Rattanachedi is a bell-shaped stupa in circular plan. Its four niches which have doors leading to the inner chamber, where the relics are kept in the small golden stupa, have smaller bell-shaped stupa on the top. The stupa is on a set of pyramidal lotus-shaped pedestals with wires in round plan. Its Ballang is in square plan, surrounded by supporting pillars.
ArchitecturePrasat Phra Thep Bidorn
Prasat Phra Thep Bidorn is a four-portico building with Prang top. The front projecting portico is in the east. The wall is decorated by tiles in Phoom Khao Bindh pattern on blue background. The cornice is decorated with Chorfah, Bairaka, Naksadung and Hanghong. A prang is on the top of the building, which is made from plaster and decorated with coloured tiles. Its four pediments display the royal coats of arms. The northern portico’s pediment displays Unalom of King Rama I. The southern portico’s pediment displays Garuda holding Nagas of King Rama II. The western portico’s pediment displays Phra Viman of King Rama III and the eastern portico’s pediment displays Phra Makamongkut of King Rama IV. The windows and doorways has Mongkut tops which are coated with gold lacquer and glass, while the sided walls show the royal coats of arms of King Rama I – V.
PaintingMural Paintings Depicting Ramayana
The mural paintings show a combination of traditional and modern painting techniques as follows: the traditional painting techniques are demonstrated through the main characters’ dresses are similar to those in the Masked dance drama, they are showing the same dance movements, and the characters’ adornments are gilded. The modern painting techniques include the use of horizon lines and perspective, imitation of real buildings such as palaces in the Grand Palace, and depiction of real landscapes. In addition, the paintings also show ways of life of people in the Thai Royal Court and ordinary Thai people and humor through the supporting characters. There are 178 painting panels in total; and each painting comes with verse of Ramayana poetry on the lower part of the panels, 224 verses in total.
ArchitecturePhra Ubosot Wat Benchamabophit Dusitwanaram
Phra ubosot is in projecting cross plan and faces the east The easterm portico is extended, while the duplicated Phra Phuttha Jinaraj is installed in the western wing. The northern and southern porticos are linked to the cloister that leads to the back of the building.The front edge of the boundary stand concrete pillars with lotus-bud-shaped echinus, which signify “Sema”, while the back of the ubosot shows through Dharmacakra Sema on a granite-carved floor tiles. The boundary floor uses pink and gray granite tiles, while the wall is a white marble.The eastern and western porticos have four marble pillars in circular plan. Beside the staircase of each side stand a pair of marble-carved lions, which Prince Naris designed and molded by Khun Sakolpradit, the royal artisan.The exterior door was embossed with Dvarapala, while the interior door was painted the same figure with golden lacquer. The windows use the same technic, however, with Mara Baek. The niches were decorated by stained glass.The roof was built in traditional Thai form with yellow corrugated tiles and Thepphanom at the eaves, which once were the roof tiles of Wat Kalayanamite that later had been coloured in China. The pediment of phra ubosot displays the important state coat of arms. The eastern portico’s pediment displays Vishnu riding Garuda which stands for Phra Krooth Pah emblem. The western portico’s pediment display Unalom in Bussabok which stands for Maha Unalom or Maha Ongkarn emblem. The northern portico’s pediment displays three-headed elephant carrying bussabok which stands for Aiyarapot emblem. The southern portico’s pediment displays Cakra which stands for Cakraroth or Dharmacakra emblem.
SculptureAvalokitesvara Bodhisattva
The sculpture is in the damaged condition. Only the head and upper body in ‘Tribhanga’ posture (standing body position or stance used in the traditional Indian sculpture, art and Indian classical dance forms) are left. The lower part of body is lost.The face is plump and well-crafted. The eyelids are half closed. The Unalome is visible at the forehead while head wears the triangle crown with jewelries. The hair bun on the top of the head is broken and lost, only the hair that is down to the shoulders left. The body wears many accessories such as the leather body bracelet with the chamois head on the left shoulder. This body bracelet is overlapped by a pearl body bracelet. Two necklaces, the top one is of pearls and the lower one is jewelries with flowers decorated. The jewels bracelet is also visible. Overall, this sculpture reflects the relationship between the Network of Mahayana Buddhist Kingdoms such as Pala Dynasty of India and Shailendra Dynasty of Java. However, the study by Assoc Prof Chet Tingsanchali points out the traits of the sculpture that do not exist in Java Art which means this sculpture might be crafted in Thailand.
SculptureGod Shiva
God Shiva is standing on a square base. Both hands are at hip’s level.The square-serious face, eyes decorated with pearls, a third-eye in the middle of the forehead, the hair curled in a decorated bell shape, sharped earrings, all of these are the clear influence of Brahmanism in Lopburi or Khmer culture in Thailand. The top part of the body is decorated with filter neck and bracelet. The lower part appears shorts with three layers seem in the middle; they are decorated with flowers. The fabric is beautifully decorated. It is related to Lopburi arts or Bayon style of Khmer arts in Thailand. At the same time, the decorated flowers are similar to central Ayutthaya style.
ArchitecturePhra Ubosot Wat Phra Sri Rattanasatsadaram
Phra Ubosot Wat Phra Sri Rattanasatsadaram is a traditional Thai brick-and-stucco architecture in rectangular plan with boundary and faces the east.The three-tiered wooden roof is decorated by blue roof tiles, with orange and yellow roof tiles at the edge line. The cornice is decorated with Chorfah, Bairaka, Naksadung and Hanghong. The floral-carved-wooden pediment is coated with gold lacquer and glass, whose centre displays Vishnu riding Garuda.The exterior wall is decorated with gold-lacquer-and-glass Phoom Khao Bindh pattern, while there are Garuda holding Naga sculptures around the pedestal. Three doorways can be found both in the front and the back, with three pairs of bronze lion figures at the front staircase. There are pillars in dodecagonal plan surrounding the ubosot in the veranda area. Its echinus is a lotus shape and brackets are supporting the eaves.
ArchitectureChedi Phukhao Thong
Chedi Phukhao Thong is a monumental architecture. It comprises a pyramidal ambulatory platform with a staircase projecting from the middle of all four sides and a 12-angle indented (recessed) body. The upper part of the chedi, which now tilted slightly, is composed of Buddha niches on four sides, triple rings moulding, anindented bell-shaped dome and a spire.
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Tumpalai Phu Pha Yon
The various engraved drawings can be classified as follows:1. Human figures. There are 21 engraved drawings of people, including both realistic and semi-realistic portraits. There are 9 realistic drawings, 2 of children and 7 of adults, that show the similarity between the real person and the drawing, for instance, the drawing of a person with an emphasis on only the outlines; the description of organs such as ears, eyes, mouth, nose, fingers, toes are not shown. The semi-realistic drawing is the drawing that characterizes the person in proportion but will be inaccurate from reality, for instance, the human head is in a square shape or the muscles of the limbs are not focused. However, other important parts such as ears, eyes, mouth, nose, fingers and toes aren’t completely shown. There are 12 drawings of this type. 2. Human hands. There is only one drawing of a right hand with the palm open. There are six fingers on the hand.3.Animals figures There are 21 drawings, 8 of fish, 4 of birds, 2 of dogs, 1 of a squirrel or a chipmunk, 1 of a buffalo, 4 of buffaloes or cows, 1 of a frog or a small green frog. 4. Geometrical motifs There are a lot of drawings with straight lines, curve lines or lines with different patterns, square, triangle, cross, arrowhead, rhombic triangle, single line, arranged lines, and crossed lines and sometimes the shape cannot be identified. 5.Appliance For example, a picture that resembles a plow, farming tools that show only the head area called “Moldboard plow” or “Phal” at the rear. There are also drawings of a shovel with a handle and a fan for blowing away the withered grain. 6.Building There are 2 drawings that look like a house. It is a house with a gable roof. One drawing is of a house with a dog inside and another drawing is of a house with a crossed roof similar to the roof of Kalae house or the roof of a hut in a farm in northeast of Thailand and it looks like there is a person inside the house.
Sakon Nakhon
Prehistoric Age
3,500 years old
Painting
ArchitectureSulamani
Sulamani seems to be the most magnificent two-storeyed temple in Pagan art. The temple comprises the lower and the upper tiers. The lower tier composes of the massive solid core for supporting the upper tier. The upper storey is planned in sanctum-and-front-hall scheme. The spire is in the Śikhara pattern. Two-storeyed Ku seems to be unique for the Late Pagan art as the tradition has been limited only during this period, from That-Binyu (during the reign of Alaungsitthu) to Htilominlo (during the reign of Nantaungmya).
ArchitectureSapada
Sapada is the example of the combination between Sri Lankan styled and Burmese styled Stupa. Whereas the base is decorated with small square panels following the Burmese convention, the plan of this stupa is circular and devoid of staircase as well as devoid of the upper circumambulatory path following Sri Lankan tradition. The Aṇḍa of this stupa is hemispheric and the square Harmikā is also provided on the top of Aṇḍa. These Aṇḍa and Harmikā characters also follow the Sri Lankan convention.
ArchitectureDhammayazika Zedi
Dhammayazika Zedi is extraordinary because the triple base of the stupa is in pentagonal plan. This base is, as usual, decorated with terracotta plaques depicting Jātakas. The staircase, the circumambulatory paths as well as the corner miniature stupas are also provided as usual. The bell-shaped element is decorated with the central band and the triangular pattern. The Harmikā is omitted as normal in Burmese art and the spire is also of normal Burmese convention. The most striking character of this Stupa is the pentagonal base and the attachment of five temples enshrining five Buddha in this Bhadra Aeon. This stupa is therefore connectible with the previous, the present and the future Buddhas. Significantly, this stupa is the only specimen of the pentagonal Zedi in Pagan art.
ArchitectureHtilominlo
The double-storeyed temple of Htilominlo seems to be the copy of Sulamani temple which had been constructed during the previous reign. This temple follows the normal convention, comprising the gigantic core at the lower storey to support the temple at the upper storey. The temple is capped by the Śikhara spire which is not different from Sulamani. The double-storeyed temple is typical to late Pagan art. It was firstly introduced In the reign of Alaungsitthu and became very popular during the reigns of Narapatisitthu and Nantaungmaya.
ArchitectureMahabodhi
As this temple is the imitation of the great temple at Bodhgaya, the plan is also laid in accordance with the prototype. The plan of Mahabodhi was designed in the two-chambered scheme with the front room for the Buddha image and the rear one for the Bodhi tree. The body of the temple is designed in the form of Jagatī platform supporting quincunx Śikhara temples which is called in Indian term as Pañcāyatana scheme. The Śikhasra spire is designed with trapezoid contour, similar to Bodhgaya’s Śikhara in Indian art. This uniqueness attests the attempt of the replication of Bodhagaya temple in India. The spire of Mahabodhi at Pagan, therefore is totally different from the normal curvilinear-contoured Śikhara in other Pagan temple.
ArchitectureMingala Zedi
Mingala Zedi follows the normal convention of the Pure Burmese Stupa in Pagan art. The lowest portion is the triple bases in multi-angled plan decorated with Jātaka terra-cotta plaques. The staircases at every cardinal direction, the circumambulatory paths and the corner miniature stupas are provided. The bell-shaped element is ornamented with the central band and the triangular pattern. The Harmikā isa omitted. The spire comprises the rings and the lotus-bud-liked pinnacle. Interestingly, the style of this stupa resembles to that of Shwezigon testifying that Shwezigon seems to be the prototype of several stupas in Burmese art, including Mingalazedi.
ArchitectureShwedagon
Stylistically, Mon Stupa is strongly different from that in Burmese art. The base is broadly divided in to angles. The bases are sloping and the staircases as well as the upper circumambulatory path are absent. Miniatures stupas are normally cloistered at the ground level. The banana-liked bud at the top is more elongate than that of the Burmese one. However, some characters still share the same style as that of Burmese art, including the bell-shaped Anda’s decorations, the absent of Harmika and the insertion of lotus under the banana-liked bud.
ArchitectureShwe Mawdaw
Stylistically, Mon Stupa is strongly different from that in Burmese art. The base is in multi-angular octagonal plan . The bases are sloping and the staircases as well as the upper circumambulatory path are absent. Miniatures stupas are normally cloistered at the ground level. The banana-liked bud at the top is more elongate than that of the Burmese one. This Stupa was rebuilt following the collapse of the Stupa due to the powerful earthquake in the early 20th century. The newly constructed Stupa is unfortunately not as beautiful as the former one.
