Crafts

Artifacts which were discovered in 1957 during excavations at Wat Ratchaburana have revealed the remarkable creativity and talent of goldsmiths during the Ayutthaya period, in the early 15th century. The treasures included the personal possessions of two princes who had died while battling for the throne on elephant-back after the death of their father, King Intharacha. The remaining son, who went on to rule, built chedis and the Wat in remembrance of and to make merit for his brothers. Inside a tower at the wat he placed personal possessions of the princes, including a miniature gold elephant covered with gems and a fabulous sword with a gold scabbard decorated with gems set in a classic floral and flame pattern, and hundreds of other pieces of jewelry. A number of other remarkable objects such as sheets of gold inscribed with Buddhist texts, models of royal regalia and ceremonial plaques, vessels and flasks attested to the skills of the craftsmen who created them.

Western visitors to Ayutthaya, before its obliteration at the hands of Burmese forces, left commentaries describing the richness and variety of objects worked in gold by Thai craftsmen for the members of the Thai monarchy. The refined workmanship impressed the visitors as equal or superior to the work of goldsmiths and jewelers in Europe at that time.

It is clear that during the Ayutthaya period, and probably during the Sukhothai era as well, rings, crowns and necklaces of finely worked gold were more than just extravagant adornments. They were important symbols of position, status and power. The Royal Regalia created during the reign of Rama I, at the beginning of the Bangkok, or Rattanakosin, period, is still used in the coronation ceremonies of the present Chakri dynasty.

Gold was also used to embellish Buddhist temples and shrines and sometimes to mold Buddha images of exquisite workmanship. Jewel encrusted gold and gilded costumes for the Emerald Buddha from the early Bangkok period also display the flair and genius of the craftsmen of that era. The Emerald Buddha is the most sacred of the Buddha images in the kingdom, and three times each year a member of the royal family, usually His Majesty the King, performs the ritual of changing the Emerald Buddha's costume to mark the passing of the seasons.

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