My Interesting

Art and Architecture in Thailand

By:Patcharavee Sakornchaipitak
Prehistoric Art In THailand


Prehistoric Settlements in North Thailand

There is evidence of settlement in Northern Thailand 500,000-100,000 years ago by hunters and gathers. Tools made of river stones have been found. From 30,000-7,500 prehistoric people there made tools and from 5000-3000 made more sophisticated tools and settled in villages, practised agriculture and made pottery. Bronze and iron tools appeared 2,500-1,500 years ago. Evidence of these things have been found at sites in Lamphun and Chiang Mai Provinces.

Interesting archaeological sites have been, Ban Yang Thong Tai Site located in Doi Saket district about 10 kilometres north of Chiang Mai City, Ob Luang Site within the Ob Luang National Park in Hot and Chom Thong districts of Chiang Mai Provinceand the Ban Wang Hai Site located 1.5 kilometres south of Wiang Yong in Lamphun Province.

Prehistoric Settlements in South Thailand
There are three periods of history involving human occupation in South Thailand. The Hoabinhian hunters and gathers were at cave sites in Peninsular Thailand including the huge cavern at Lang Rongrien at Krabi Province near Phuket. Radiocarbon determinations indicate settlement between 38,000 - 27,000 years ago. In Trang Province further South is the Sakai Cave where dating puts habitation 10,000 years ago. The available evidence today of threse settlements are the number of hearths, the bones of Maacaques, gibbons, squirrels fresh water fish and marine shell fish as well as some some tools and clay supports. The sea level altered during the Pleistocene period the temperature was colder and the sea coast line was located up to 30 km out from before, so caves are often found inland today

Prehistoric Settlements in Central Thailand

The Hoabinhian hunters and gathers also inhabited the Chao Phraya Valley. Again this is evidenced by the remains in caves and carbon datoing. The main art remains are the pieces of pottery each revealing a wide range of decorative designs. Again here also the sea level was not as today and most of the discovered caves are in surrounding limestone hills. Later with rice cultivation there came the Neolithic settlements and again these can be found in concentratrations in two parts of Central Thailand.

Prehistoric Settlements in North East Thailand

There are numerous locations and diggings in North East Thailand of the hunters and gathers and later the Neolithic settlements. The best location is at Ban Chiang east of Udon Thani [ 1 hour drive ]. This is a recommended tourist location of interest. The region is also famous for its Bronze Age sites. For more detailed study we recommended the books on the Prehistory books link.

India Art In Thailand

Introducing Indian culture into Southeast Asia during the first Century of the Common Era is referred to as '' Indianisation of South East Asia ''. In Thailand the writing system was based on Indian script. Pali was the language of Buddhism, Indian Dharmasastras was the basis of law and political administration and Indian literature was the basis for theatre, dance literature and art.

Brahmanism was the religion of the Court and the King was regarded as the earthly representation of the god Vishnu. Brahmanism, Hinayana Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism were the religions.

Indian art, architecture, government, literature, religion and philosophy had fundamental impact on South East Asia notwithstanding the Tai migrated from China. Art in Thailand from 1st - 6th C and up to 8th C in South Thailand was dominated by India. This included art made in India and imported, works copied in Thailand and other Thai made art which styled Indian concepts of form and subject matter [ the later continuing until the 16th C]. Details of Indian style work to be seen for South Thailand and I 'san are discussed in those links.

The best examples of Indianised art in Thailand can be seen at National Museum Bangkok, National Museum Nakhon Si Thammarat, and Wat Phra Mahathat Museum, Chaiya.

Srivijaya Art In Thailand

The term Srivijaya art is like the term Lan Na art in that it reflects various infusions of style from India, Champa [ Vietnam ] and central Java it might rather be a reference to all art and architecture in South Thailand in the period 7th - 13th C.
The Srivijaya Kingdom was ruled by the Sailendra dynasty of Central Java, which also ruled the Indonesian Archipelago, the Malay Peninsula and Southern Thailand to the Isthmus of Kra.
Its capital in what is now Thailand was the City of Chaiya [ then called Grahi ].
In Thailand sculpture and architectural relics confirm that Mahayana Buddhism was predominate. The style reflects close resemblance to Indo-Javanese art also showing influences from India [ Amaravati, Pala and Gupta ].
Srivijaya Bronze Buddha Of Grabi Thailand

Most Srivijaya architecture is on the east coastline from Surat Thani Province south to Songkhla Province and comprises religious buildings of Mahayana Buddhism. Good examples are Phra Borom Mathat at Chaiya in Javanese style made of brick and mortar [ 9th – 10th C ], Wat Kaew Pagoda at Chaiya also of Javanese form and Wat Long Pagoda. The original Wat Mahathat at Nakhon Si Thammarat [ a Srivijayan city ] was subsequently encased by a larger Sri Lanka styled building.

From the 11th C Khmer influences were also apparent. In the middle of the 13th C the Srivijaya Empire fell apart and the new Tai Empire of Sukhothai penetrated as far South as Nakhon Sri Thammarat bringing with it new influences on art.
Major works include the Bodhisatta Bronze with silver inlay shown above. This was found at Chaiya, Surat Thani and dates 8th – 9th C. Another major work as shown here is the Buddha under the Naga King, ‘’Muchalinda’’, in bronze. This is from Wat Wieng, Chaiya, Surat Thani, and is dated 1183.

Mon Dvaravati Art In Thailand

Dvaravati art refers to the art style that dominated in Thailand during 7th – 11th C before the arrival of the Khmers and later the Tai. Dvaravati also refers to the Mon communities that ruled what is now Thailand. Nakhon Pathom, Khu Bua and U Thong in Central Thailand are important sites for Dvaravati art and architecture. The art objects are of Hinayana Buddhist, Mahayana Buddhist and Hindu religious subjects. Objects are stone sculpture, stucco, terra cotta and bronze.
The style is influenced from India, Amaravati [ South India ] and Gupta and post-Gupta prototypes [ 4th – 8th C in India ] but have local elements to reflect southeast asian facial features. The distinctive Dvaravati sculpture is that of the Wheel of Law found throughout the Dvaravati Kingdom. These symbols of the Buddha's first sermon were erected on high pillars and placed in temple compounds. Today good examples can be seen at the National Museum Bangkok.


This period marked the beginning of the various art styles. In India Buddhist clerics introduced 32 features to be included in any representation of the Buddha so that all his images should not be confused with those of ordinary people but be instantly recognizable as the Buddha. He is portrayed as superior to ordinary men with profound spiritual purity conquering physical desire by the mind and showing the aura of inner peace.
In contrast the crafting of images of the Hindu Gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva who were super humans radiating power required different images. They were accorded kingly status, crowned and adorned with jewels and given strong and beautiful faces.
These Gods showed strength, radiated power and masculine vigor. The consorts to these Gods were the embodiment of feminine grace and sweetness. In these times art had to capture the intangible, invisible gods and translate their themes into figures of stone or bronze. In doing so they were guided by rules devised in India.

Mon Dvaravati art has been found as far south as Yalang ancient city in Pattani,as far north as in Srithep in Petchabun, and as far east as Fa Dad Sung Yang in Kalasin and Sema in Nakhon Rachasima.
There are three forms, sculpture for decorating holy places, architecture and utensils. Early art had indian faces but later became more indigenous looking. The sculptures for decorating holy places were made of stucco, baked and raw clay. Paintings were also popular and were of people, dwarfs and animals, particularly, lions. Samples of these works are on display at all regional Thailand National Museums.

Mon Art In Lan Na

In the Mon controlled Thailand there was the Dvaravati Kingdom of the central Chao Phra Valley and to its north the Mon Kingdom of Haripunchai, the capital of which was the town Haripunchai [ now called Lamphun ]. Mon Haripunchai architecture is distinct in form and serves Buddhist functions.
The Better Paces To See Mon Hariphunchai Art Are:

-Wat Chamatewi in Lamphun
-The Chedi of Wat Phya in Nan
-Wat Chedi Ched Yot in Chiang Mai
-Wat Chedi Si Liem built in Wiang Kun Gam [ 1300 ]
-The Suwanan Chedi at Wat Phra That Haripunchai in Lamphun [ 9th C ], and
-The brick Chedi of Chiang Saen's Wat Pasuk [ 1295 ]

Mon Haripunchai Sculpture

Mon Haripunchai sculpture was unique in style and has no images of Hindu deities unlike the art elsewhere in Thailand.
This Buddhist art is in stone, terracotta, stucco and bronze. The facial features are distinctly stylised and the mode of dress is Indian, [ 9th – 10th C Pala-Sena style of north eastern India ]. The facial features include curly hair, well proportioned bodies, prominent eyes, incised moustaches and neck wrinkles typically not Thai as we understand today's ethnic features of the locals.
The art style was influence by Pala in India.

Khmer Art In Thailand

Khmer Art & Architecture

Khmer and Lop Buri art refers to the art of the Khmer people. In the 6th C the Khmer settled North Eastern Thailand [ I 'san ] and the area which today is Cambodia. Lop Buri, a town in the central Chao Phraya Valley was the major city for Khmer administration in Thailand. The Khmer Empire ruled Thailand from 7th C until the mid 13th C. Khmer culture was dominant between the 11th – 13th C, particularly in the East [ I 'san ], such as at Phimai and Phnom Rung.

In the prior period the Khmer Empire was divided between the Upper Chenla on the Mun River Basin and Lower Chenla. The art of Upper Chenla is referred to as Kompong style [ 8th – 9th C ]. The art of the later period is referred to as the Bayon Style. Following the death of Jayavarman the 7th, in 1219 Khmer power faded and the Kingdom of Sukhothai emerged as the dominant political force.

Khmer art in Thailand is varied. There was the pre-Angkorian period of 7th – 10th C, when Khmer Temples and monuments were constructed in I 'san, the Angkor period until 13th C when the Khmer ruled parts of Thailand and the prior cultural domination of the Mon Dvaravati waned in the 11th C and later when Thai artists copied or were aesthetically influenced to create a merged style we call Lop Buri.

Khmer Architecture Thailand

Khmer existence was totally dictated by Hindu beliefs, astrology and subjugation to the Gods and their God Kings. The role of architecture was to demonstrate these beliefs for the believers and enforce by demonstration the system to those subjugated to the system.

Architecture was based on a system where boundaries, axes, and other architectural parameters have measurement or size based on their physical extent and internal divisions [ that is subdivided parts into logical parts with each measurable against the whole ] but where additionally these structures contained calendar and cosmological concepts.

The concept of cycles and sub cycles [ astronomy ]and systems and subsystems [ architecture ], the interrelationships between various cycles [ astronomy ] and various systems [ architecture ], and the arithmetic calculations that result in time related data ,either time eras, time cycles, or dates, were shared in the methodology and practice of Khmer astronomers and architects.

Whilst the positions of the planets and stars can be determined without using trigonometry in Khmer astronomy, it is clear with some Temples that the angles between towers, the moon and sun, and the observation points in the Temples, that these were carefully calculated and that by the 5th-6th C the Indian astronomy adopted in Cambodia included that knowledge first recorded by the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Khmer Mythology The Lion

Lions, in stone and bronze, are common features at Khmer monuments. There were no lions in Asia except in Asia minor [ now extinct ] and west India. However in Thailand and Cambodia these lions are mythical solar lions. They stand guard together with the lunar mythical animal, the Naga. Their presence has a deeper meaning.

All these temples were devoted to Vishnu. Motives and statues complimented the architectural homage and in doing so, all had meaning. Vishnu is an Indian God, which first appeared in the ancient Vedas, the 4 books sacred to Hinduism. Vishnu took 3 steps to encompass the earth, air and heavens. These steps symbolise the sun's point of rising, its zenith and its point of setting. Vishnu has a mount, a Garuda, a rapacious looking bird, which resembles an eagle. Vishnu is also connected to the constellation Aquila, the Eagle. This constellation goes back to the days of ancient Mesopotamia and the Great Spirit Alala, in the form of an eagle. These cultures worshiped the Sun and the eagle.

These cultures had a belief in the eye of the Sun during the day and the eye of the constellation at night. Vishnu manifested this in the solar system of the zodiac signs as the constellation Leo and was also manifested in the lunar system under the constellation as Aquila. Vishnu is one god, the ultimate creator of time who is manifested in both the lunar and solar constellation systems, whether seen as Aquila or as Leo the lion. This solar guardian is inseparable from the lunar guardian, the Naga.

Khmer Mythology The Naga

Just as the Lion and the Constellation Leo signify the Sun and the day, the Naga represents the night, the Luna world. The importance of this is reflected in the Cambodian [ Khmer ] mythology of their creation and the tradition of Khmer Kings of being praised for unifying the solar and lunar races of kings and of associating a lineage with the sun or moon [ which tradition came from India ].
The Khmer origins myth is inscribed in ancient stones and tells the story how in the 7th C, the legendary hermit Kambu Svayambhuva [ an Indian ] consorted with Mera, as the gift of Shiva guru of the 3 worlds, who wanted a perfect creation for his three eyes to glace upon and who thereby endowed with the pre-eminent glory of his lineage , obtained the alliance of the solar and lunar races .


Lop Buri Style Art

Lop Buri art refers to sculpture of the central valley 11th – 13th C [ the capital of which was and so remains today, the city of Lop Buri ]. Works of architecture were Khmer.

The Lop Buri art school is distinguished by its Mon influence and being a Buddhist religious center, its principal subjects are the Buddha and Boddhisatvas, unlike the Khmer who focused on Hindu deities.

Lop Buri and Khmer works of art can be found throughout Thailand and the best examples include the 12th C Crowned Buddha on Naga found at Wat Na Phra Men at Ayuthaya [ 12th C ] as below, the Bodhisattva Head, 8th C Khmer Kompong Prae style found at Nakhon Ratchasima Province and the various bronze Bodhisattva found at Prakhon Chai [ 8th – 9th C ].

Thai Sukhothai Style Art

Thai Sukhothai art refers to the art and style of the Sukhothai [ translated as the dawn of happiness ] Empire period. Sculpture [ bronze, stucco and stone ] was inspired by Theravada Buddhism which created a new style in which spiritual serenity is merged with human form and reflected in the numerous images of the Buddha. Sculptors did not base their images on strict human form but on interpretations of metaphors from religious verse and Pali language scriptures.
Accordingly the artists created images that were intended to reflect the compassionate and superhuman nature of the Buddha. During this period bronze images of Hindu gods were also caste. These Hindu gods are crowned and wear royal attire and were cult objects in royal court rituals performed by Brahmin priests. Excellent examples can be seen at the National Museum Bangkok.

In addition, Sukhothai was famous for ceramics [ ‘’ Sangkhalok ware ‘’ ]. There were two forms, the monochromes in brown and white and the celadon and painted wares. The later have dark brown or black designs and have a clear glaze. During the 15th – 16th C these were popular in South East Asia and exported to Indonesia, the Philippines and elsewhere.
Sculpture [ bronze, stucco and stone ] was inspired by Theravada Buddhism which created a new style in which spiritual serenity is merged with human form and reflected in the numerous images of the Buddha. Sculptors did not base their images on strict human form but on interpretations of metaphors from religious verse and Pali language scriptures.

Thai Ayutthaya Style Art

Thai Ayutthaya art refers to the art and style of the Ayutthaya Kingdom which existed from 1350 until 1767. The early period reflects Dvaravati and Lop Buri influences but from the middle of the 15th C it developed to its nationally renowned style, which was inspired by the earlier Sukhothai and U Thong features. Artworks were created in bronze, woodcarving, stucco and sandstone. Many works of art were destroyed during the Burmese invasions.
The art of the period is classified into four periods, first [ 1350 - 15th C ] when U Thong influences were predominant, second, from mid 15th C until 17th C during which influences of Sukhothai were dominant, third, in the17th C when the Khmer became vassals of the Ayuthayan Empire and their art was again fashionable, and finally from late 17th C until 1767 when splendour was fashionable and the images of Buddha were ornate with crowns and ornate robes.

Thai Rattanakosin Style Art

Thai Rattanakosin art [ or Bangkok style ] refers to the style of art of the time of the Chakri Dynasty founded in Bangkok after the collapse of Ayutthaya in 1767. The period reflects two themes, that of promotion of the classical Siamese traditions under the reigns of three Kings, Rama 's 1, 2,and 3 and the subsequent period from Rama 4 until today when modern western elements were incorporated into art styles.

In the early Bangkok period numerous works of sculpture were brought to Bangkok from war torn areas and little new works were created. It was about salvaging the past. Works created later were ornate and the simplicity of the earlier period gave way to ornamentation and some suggest, a loss of spirituality in the images.

In the second period the images became more realistic and human in a general retreat at the time for historical accuracy. This is reflected in more human body form, hairstyle and type, and pleated toga style robes. The period is rich in mural paintings. Following the creation of Bangkok the ornamentation of temples flourished. Painting of religious scenes was regarded as an act of merit but also served the function of educating moral lessons through graphic illustrations of the life of Buddha, from the Jataka Tales, the Buddha's Former Lives. The murals in Thai art have a total lack of perspective in the western sense. To enable devotees to recognise scenes or people of significance certain conventions are constant, such as the use of colour, giving Buddha gold skin and red robes. The images merge the real with mythical beings, the known world with beings from celestial regions, allegories for states of being attained through meritorious rebirth and spiritual excellence, reflecting the traditions of Buddhist and Hindu cosmology.