AYUTTHAYA HISTORICAL RESEARCH



THE CHAO SAM PHRAYA NATIONAL MUSEUM





The Chao Sam Phraya National Museum is on Ayutthaya City Island, on Rojana Road opposite Ayutthaya's Rajabhat University. The museum is named after the third son of King Intharacha (reign 1409-1424 CE), who, when on the throne as King Borommaracha II (reign 1424-1448 CE), ordered the construction of Wat Ratcha Bun or the Monastery of Royal Merit (presently called Wat Ratcha Burana) on the cremation site of his two elder brothers. In ancient times, Khlong Chakrai Noi ran west of its premises. Three monastic structures once stood here: Wat Pa Nai, Wat Jingjok, and San Chao Thung. The museum was specially built to display the objects excavated at Wat Ratcha Burana and Wat Maha That in 1957 and 1958 CE.


HM King Rama IX inaugurated the national museum on 26 Dec 1961 CE. The Chao Sam Phraya National Museum was funded by proceeds from the public auction of votive tablets discovered in the crypt of Wat Ratcha Burana. The auction raised 3,416,928 Baht. [1]


The museum was the first to present a modern form of exhibition and is the most important in Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya province. The museum features three exhibition buildings.


The main building exhibits archaeological artefacts excavated during 1957- 1958 CE, including Buddha images from the Dvaravati, Lop Buri, and Ayutthaya periods.


On the ground floor, we find one of the most important pieces: a large stone seated Buddha of the Dvaravati period (6th-11th century), once enshrined at Wat Phra Men in Nakhon Pathom province. The Fine Arts Department reconstructed the image, gathering pieces from different locations. (1) Only six statues of this kind exist in the world, five of which are in Thailand. Wat Na Phra Men in Ayutthaya houses one of these other five and is worth a visit.





(Large stone seated Buddha of the Dvaravati period - December 2019 CE)



A bronze head from a Buddha image of the U-Thong period, excavated at Wat Thammikarat in Ayutthaya, shows the fine ancient craftsmanship of casting religious objects. Examples of Ayutthaya-style wood carvings include door panels from Wat Phra Si Sanphet and Wat Hantra, as well as a carved gable from Wat Mae Nang Pluem. This section also displays several Buddha images, including some found inside the Buddha image Phra Mongkhon Bophit (other images are in the Chanthara Kasem Museum in Ayutthaya and the Bangkok National Museum).





(Bronze Buddha head of the U-Thong period, excavated at Wat Thammikarat - November 2016 CE)



On the second floor, an exhibition displays a variety of artefacts, including ceramics, painted cloths, cabinets, and Buddha images. Most important are the two rooms allocated for golden objects.


One room exhibits the objects recovered from looters who dug into the crypt under the principal prang of Wat Ratcha Burana in 1957 CE and from the Fine Arts Department excavations in situ in 1958 CE. Wat Ratcha Burana was hurriedly excavated in 1958 CE, when it became clear that looters had entered the crypt and taken away an unknown number of valuable objects. The findings in the crypt beneath the temple's principal prang were of enormous archaeological importance. Researchers found many royal gold objects in both chambers.


The objects provided hard evidence of ancient ceremonial use, for example, the royal regalia of a Tai monarch. The royal regalia were mentioned only in a stone inscription describing the coronation of King Loethai of Sukhothai in 1347 CE. They were also carved on a panel from the Sukhothai era, now kept in the National Museum of Sukhothai.


Since ancient times, it was a royal tradition linked to Brahman religious rites that the King received five principal royal regalia as symbols of kingship during his coronation ceremony. The crown was called the Phra Maha Phichai Mongkut, or the Great Crown of Victory, while the five principal regalia or Bencha Ratcha Ka Kuthaphan, were: the Sword of Victory (Phra Saeng Khan Chai Sri) the Royal Staff or Sceptre (Tharn Phra Korn) a pair of Royal Fans (Walawichani) and Fly Whisk (Phra Saw Chammari) and a pair of Royal Slippers (Chalong Phra Baat Cherng Ngorn). The principal royal regalia symbolised the king as a warrior protecting his people (the sword), providing justice and equity (the staff), accepting the people (slippers), and fulfilling his obligation to ward off any evil threatening his people (fan and whisk).





(Royal Regalia - Wat Ratcha Burana)



Wat Ratcha Burana was the cremation site of Chao Sam Phraya's closest family: his father, King Intharacha (reign 1409-1424 CE), and his two elder brothers. The findings suggest that the King's cremated remains were buried with his most important belongings: the crown, the five principal regalia, royal utensils, many other properties, religious items, and offerings.


The royal crown and the sceptre are said to be among the looted items and were never recovered. Fortunately, some of the principal royal regalia were recovered.


The highlight is a golden sword known as "Phra Saeng Khan Chai Sri". The Royal Victory Sword could have belonged to King Intharacha (reign 1409-1424 CE). The sword is 115 cm long and contained in a golden scabbard decorated with floral and flame-like vegetal motifs studded with a variety of gems. The handle is made of quartz crystal, gilded and inlaid with gems. The blade was made of iron and double-edged. The knob of the handle is beautifully decorated with precious stones. Except for the sword, the other royal regalia found were miniature imitations, likely made especially for the funeral.





(The Sword of Victory - Wat Ratcha Burana)



Researchers also found several royal utensils for the monarch's personal use, including water pots, betel-nut sets, trays, and boxes. The crypt also contained various ornaments, such as necklaces, bracelets, bangles, and rings. Royal clothing, unfortunately, except for the pieces woven in gold thread, disintegrated on contact with air when the "archaeologists" tried to remove it.


A second room houses an exhibition of golden offerings discovered in situ in the crypt of the principal Prang tower of Wat Maha That, where a golden reliquary containing the Lord Buddha's relic was enshrined. Wat Maha That was the first temple the FAD excavated in 1957 CE, thanks to funding from the Phibun Songkram Government and the establishment of a "Committee of Restoration of Ayutthaya" in 1956 CE. In August 1957 CE, archaeologists discovered several golden objects on the site. Workers found, in the main chamber of the principal prang, a solid gold lion half-buried in sand beneath the pagoda's pedestal, in a fish-shaped container decorated with a gilded motif and filled with other gold accessories.


Later, a shaft was found containing a hollow stone pillar, 3.20 m high, with a lid, buried in a cemented-brick pedestal. The container was filled with a small stupa wrapped in a lead sheet containing relics, gold ornaments, a large quantity of bronze images, pewter votive tablets and other valuables. See: "The Buddha Relics".


The balcony exhibits votive tablets and plaques made of terra-cotta and pewter (an alloy of tin and lead, lined with copper) from the Sukhothai, Lop Buri, and Ayutthaya periods, discovered in the crypts of the Prang towers of Wat Ratcha Burana, Wat Maha That, and Wat Phra Ram.


The second building exhibits artefacts and objects from the 6th to the 19th century, covering the Dvaravati, Sri Vijaya, Lop Buri, Chiang Saen, Sukhothai, U-Thong, Ayutthaya, and Ratanakosin periods for comparative study. Important items include various Buddha images and images of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, Ganesha, and others.


The third building is a traditional Thai house built in the middle of a pond, displaying household equipment and utensils from ancient Siamese daily life.





(Canon found in the Chao Phraya River (?)- December 2019 CE)



Footnotes:


(1) Wat Phra Men, south of Wat Phra Pathom, was excavated by Chao Phraya Dibâkaravanéa, the second in command at the Phra Pathom Chedi construction site. The stupa, or caitya, complex on the site likely contained four large limestone Buddha images (3.76 meters high) arranged around a central structure. These images are seated with legs pendant (bhadrasana), with the right hand raised in a teaching gesture (vitarka mudra) and the left resting on the knee. This posture is rare in Southeast Asia but appears in Dvaravati art, often interpreted as influenced by Gandharan or Gupta traditions, dating to the 7th–8th centuries CE. The style indicates a syncretic blend of Mahayana and Theravada iconography, possibly reflecting esoteric practices. Thanit Yupho (1907-2004 CE), who was Director-General of the Fine Arts Department in the 1960s, believed that two of the large Buddhas of Wat Phra Men were moved from Nakhon Pathom to Ayutthaya during the reign of either King Ramathibodi I (1350-1369 CE) or King Ramathibodi II (1491-1529 CE). With the founding of Ayutthaya and the construction of numerous new temples, demand for ancient Buddha statues grew. (Interview with Mr Thanit Yupho, former Director-General of the Fine Arts Department, by Mr Prathum Chumphengphan, former head of the Chao Phraya National Museum, on 7 February 1986 CE.) Two white stone Buddha heads were found at Wat Phraya Kong, and one at Wat Khun Phrom in Ayutthaya. The two stone Buddha heads were large and heavy, and people smashed them to make boat transport easier. Later, someone collected them and sold them to a shop in Weng Nakhon Kasem (a market in the Samphanthawong District of Bangkok, popularly known as the 'Thieves Market' as formerly mostly stolen goods were sold there). The Fine Arts Department discovered this and returned the pieces to Ayutthaya for display at the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum. Meanwhile, the white stone Buddha image at Wat Khun Phrom was moved to the museum in December 1962 CE. Sadly, the statue pieces got mixed up, and the parts no longer fit together. Museum staff found missing fragments in the Phra Pathom Chedi gallery (installed during Rama V's reign), then transported them to Ayutthaya. An artist named Mr Sawet Tettham finished the first Buddha image in 1964 CE. It is now displayed at the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum in Ayutthaya and serves as a key reference for Dvaravati iconography.


References:


[1] Charnvit Kasetsiri & Michael Wright (2007). Discovering Ayutthaya. Toyota Thailand Foundation. pp. 116-9.


Consulted works:


[A] Khruangthongsamay Ayutthaya - Krom Silpakon (2005). [B] Namchom Phiphithaphan Sathan Haeng Chat Jao Sam Phraya - Krom Silpakon (2000).



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