From now on I announce some fine articles dealing with Art History. I hope you’ll find this information constructive or else … I was personally involved in some Thai art research, well from traditionalist point of view, sort of exploring in Eliade manner. Looking for the signs, markups, sacred symbols engraved deeply in the playful forms of hinayana duties. I’ll put in writing these possessions afterward or else …In the interim presently try to comprehend and to appreciate …
Thai traditional arts have numerous distinctive qualities which make them easily distinguishable from those of other neighboring countries in South-East Asia. Much of their inspiration and many of their features have been borrowed or adapted from other Asian sources, including the Indian, Mon-Khmer, Sinhalese, Chinese and other civilizations. Thai art mainly deals with the Buddhist religion and is known as Buddhist art, which forms the national ideal and conception of life. It is said that during the greater part of the kingdom’s history, religious motifs predominated; sculpture, metal casting, sacred architecture and the arts were employed for embellishing temples and were for many centuries the principal modes of expression. Just as the mediaeval artists of Europe gave outward form to their religious aspiration by building cathedrals and beautifying them with sculptures, wood-carvings and so forth; or by laboring to produce exquisitely illuminated manuscripts, so did the Thais express their devotion to the sacred doctrine of Lord Buddha by sculpting or casting glorious images and rearing magnificently adorned buildings in which to house them.

The Classical Thai Buddhist Art owes more to India
than to any other country, but it seldom drew its inspiration directly from there. Indian art and craftsmanship are no doubt regarded as the prototypes of Buddhist art in this country. The waves of adaptation and imitation from Indian sources swept the country since the first quarter of the beginning of the Christian Era. It is said that several schools of Indian art came in contact with Thai art at a very early period. Stylistic evidence shows the influence of the Amaravati school of Indian art on Buddhist art in
Thailand in the early centuries of the Christian Era. Later still, the Gupta, Pallava and Pala-Sena elements from India are noticeable in Thai art. In the field of architecture, it received the modelled structure of the architectural art from the Peninsular South India, where the three great empires of the Chalukyas of Badami in the Deccan, the Pallavas of Kanchi on the coast, and the Pandayas of Madurai in the far south flourished. In the field of sculpture and painting also, the Indian school of art played an important part in the Siamese Buddhist artistic workmanship. The images and idols along with the wall-paintings in Siam owe their origin and adaptation to different Indian schools of art such as the Gandhara, Mathura, Amaravati and the Classical art of the Gupta period which were responsible for the introduction, origin and growth of the Buddhist art in Thailand.

Especially the Orissan art and architecture as well as art from Bengal in Eastern India are regarded as the main prototypes of art in Thailand and of other South- East Asian countries.
Thailand is the land of many human cultural activities and artistic workmanship. Several human races have settled down in this country since remote times, and all of them had their cultural and artistic elements, which contributed a lot to Buddhist art in this country. The introduction and origin of the Buddhist art in Thailand, no doubt, represents the close relationship in the primitive art of the early powerful kingdom of Thailand called the Dvaravati kingdom. In the long duration of the Mon’s Dvaravati kingdom in central Thailand, there was considerable artistic activity and movement in both architecture and sculpture, which is classified by scholars as the Dvaravati school of art. It is regarded as the first and earliest Buddhist school of art in Thailand. From archaeological excavation and researches, a few objects belonging to this period have been found which consist of the Buddha Images, basreliefs and Dhammachakra (Wheel-like symbols of the sacred doctrine of the Buddha). They reveal a strong Gupta influence and are probably Indian workmanship. Next to the Dvaravati period of the early Buddhist art of Thailand is Sri-Vijaya kingdom. This kingdom ex tended its sway over parts of present Indonesia, Cambodia and areas of South and Central Thailand. This kingdom reached its zenith around the eighth century A.D. The surviving examples of Sri-Vijaya art in
Thailand strongly resemble the features of the splendid monuments of that period, which are found in Java and Sumatra island. They deal with Mahayana elements, as at that time the Mahayana sect of Buddhism flourished in some island-countries of South-East Asia such as Java, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and Southern Thailand as well as in Cambodia. This school of art is called the Sri- Vijaya school of art, which is regarded as the next stage of growth of Buddhist art in Thailand, after the Dvaravati school of art, which bears strong elements of Hinayana Buddhist art. The next stage of development can be seen in the art of the Lopburi period It was dominated by the Khmers or Cambodians and as such the art of this period is known locally as Khmer art which deals with Mahayana elements, just like the Sri-Vijaya school of art. This school of Buddhist art marks the last stage of the growth of Buddhist art in Thailand before the rise of the Thai people to power in the land which is now called Thailand.

By Mrs Charuwan Phungtian