Language * Painting * Literature * Music * Theatre & Dancing

Art Periods in Thailand
Dvaravati Period * Srivijaya Period * Khmer and Lopburi Styles Sukhothai Style * Lan Na Style * U-Thong & Ayutthaya Styles Dhonburi and Bangkok Styles

Dvaravati Period
The earliest works of art produced on the soil of present day Thailand date from the period of the Kingdom of Dvaravati (6th - 11th century), whose main centres lay within a 100 mile radius of Bangkok, the capital being probably Nakhon Pathom. The Thais had not yet settled in the country, then occupied by the Mons. Other Mon Kingdoms stretched westwards as far as Thaton in Burma. From the 8th century onwards the Khmers pushed forward into the Menam plains until, at the beginning of the 11th century, they annexed the whole Kingdom of Dvaravati. Soon after this, the western Mons were conquered by King Anawratha of Pagan (Burma). Only in the north could the small Mon Kingdom of Haripunjaya (Lamphun) maintain its independence until the end of the 13th century.

Of the architecture of the Dvaravati period only a few foundations and some fragments of buildings in Lamphun have been preserved, but we know various early forms of the stupa from stone models and carvings. A comparatively late Mon stupa is preserved at Wat Kukut, near Lamphun. It was restored in its present form in 1218 after an earthquake. It was a slender pyramid composed of five storeys; the top, with the spire, is now missing.

The main object of Thai sculpture during the whole course of its history has always been the creation of Buddha images. As in other Asian countries, these followed the canons of the traditional iconography which had been worked out in India (Mathura and Gandhara) in the 2nd century. Of the 32 major and 80 minor physical signs of a Buddha mentioned in the texts, only a few principal features are actually represented in art. The bodily proportions are perfectly harmonious, with broad shoulders and narrow hips. The arms are smooth and rounded like an elephant's trunk, the legs like those of a gazelle, the hands like opening lotus-buds with the finger-tips bent back. The hair falls into short locks curled to the right, the lobes of the ears are long, and the face has the oval shape of a mangoseed. On his palms and soles the Buddha has the sign of the "Wheel of the Law". As a sign of Enlightenment he has a hemispherical knob (ushnisha) on top of his head. In Thai figures this is almost always topped by a lotus-bud or a pointed flame.

Of the four positions (sitting, standing, walking or reclining) in which the Buddha can be represented, the seated posture is the commonest. The posture (legs crossed or one above the other) and the various positions of the hands (mudras) have symbolic significance. The hands in the lap, with open palms, one above the other, denote meditation (samadhi-rnudra). in the dharmacakra-mudra ("Turning of the Wheel of the Law") the hands are raised to the breast, and one describes the motion of the wheel. This symbolises the Buddha's first sermon in the deer-park at Benares. The raised hand with the palm outwards is the protective or "fearless'' gesture (abhaya-mudra), while in the varada ("favour-granting") mudra the hand is turned downwards with the palm inwards.