Chanapatana

International Design Institute

Names:
Efe Onomake

Parunyu Chaisri

Course: History of Art and Architecture 1

Interior and Product Design

Museum Critique

Title:

Stele with Buddha Sheltered by Naga’s Hood

from Wat Pradu Songtham,Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya District,Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province Davaravati Style,8TH-10th
century (1,100-1,300 Years ago)
Introduction

The aim of this Critique is to identify and analyze any ancient artifact in the Bangkok National Museum by tracing its historical
origin, age, features, general emotional appeal and its influence, significance or importance in the life of the Thai people.

Objectives

The objective of this critique is to gather data about the chosen artifact by primary and secondary data collection process. The
primary data collection process entails the physical first hand observation of the artifacts in question while the secondary
process entails gather all information of the selected artifact by reading about the history or story behind the creation of that
artifact and what it signifies or represents to the markers or owners.

Topic

The Artifact analyzed in this research is the “Stele with Buddha Sheltered by Naga’s Hood from Wat Pradu Songtham,Phra
Nakhon Si Ayutthaya District,Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province Davaravati Style,8TH-10th century (1,100-1,300 Years ago)

Physical description of Artifact and opinion

The Artifact physical description is that of a man sitting on the coiled body of a large snake crossed legged in the traditional
Buddhist lotus meditation position with eyes closed and both hands clasped forward palms facing upwards one on top of the
other forming a small semi-circle at his waist line. The hair on his head was matted and seven large headed cobras are
protruding from his head and shoulders forming a small circular arc around him like an umbrella. By both sides of the figure
are two pillars which are also held under by two children sitting on the floor. The color of the artifact is a faded reddish brown
hue that looks like it was made from the kind of clay that were used to make brick walls in ancient times but the color must
have faded due to the effects or passing of time and other environmental factors sure as heat ,cold and moisture. It also have
a very old smell. Just looking at this object one who had a feeling of traveling back in time to a distance past where life was
much more different from what it is today. The first thought that might come to that of an inquisitive mind is that was there
ever a time that snakes live in total harmony with humans or Who are the people that created this artifact? How was their life
style affected by this artifact? What are their way of life and belief’s? And most especially where do there come from?

What is most striking about this figure is that it is both intimidating and fascinating at the same time. It provokes a feeling of
fear and awe at the same time probing the observer to want to ask deeper questions about the meaning and symbolism of this
artifact to the Thai people. The man sitting peacefully on the body of the snake seems to be under the protection of the snake
and at the same time gives the impression that it could be dangerous to approach him as the man and the snakes may or
would not want to be disturbed.

Quite naturally, This type of Artifact would look like something from a horror movie or what some people might call the stuffs
of nightmares or what religious people like Christians or Muslims would call evil, demonic and satanic. But at a deeper level of
enquire or research on the artifact.one would see that there is nothing evil or satanic about the artifact as it fundamentally
presents a key spiritual principle that is as ancient as the origins of mankind itself. The artifact in question belongs to the
Buddhist religious system which is the major religious system of the people of Thailand.

It was said to have originated from the country of Nepal. According to the Buddhist religious mythology, the name “Buddha”
translates to “the enlightened one”. So in essence any one that has reached a high point of spiritual enlightenment whereby
he or she is free from all attachments of this world and has achieved a supreme state of peace and calmness that nothing can
disturb and has a direct connection with the divine can be called a Buddha.

Spiritual symbolism of artifact and opinion

The spiritual symbolism of this artifact is that the person sitting in the meditative pose has been able to open and align their
seven chakra points with each other and so such a person has achieved Godhood on this earth. The seven cobras represents
the kundalini energy also known as the life force energy which lies dormant in the body of an individual both can be
awakened by the ritual practice of meditation .That is why the man is sitting in a meditative position is fully relax but the
snakes are wide awake and fully alert. According to the Buddhist spiritual system there are 7 major charkas in the human
body. The word chakra also means Wheel in Sanskrit, an ancient Hindu language. There are the crown chakra at the top of the
head, the third eye chakra in between the eyes, the throat chakra, the heart chakra, the stomach chakra, the waist chakra and
the root chakra.

According to their teachings, the sole aim of man on the world is to become Godlike. The seven chakras must work together to
produce balance and harmony in the body and by making use of specific mediation and sounds chanting and vibrations this is
achieved. And once the person has been successful in opening all the seven chakras there can be able to do extra ordinary
things such as healing people, performance of miracles, increased used of the senses like telepathic and psychic abilities, astral
projection, remote viewing, and telekinesis e .t. c.

While most westerners will laugh at this believe system of the Thai people as mere superstitions or mumbo jumbo. The Thai
people seems to be very serious about the validity of truth of this spiritual system as it can be seen in their daily life’s and
venerations was worship given to these living Buddha in the forms of monks and also the stone images and pictures depictions
of the Buddha statues are very popular and also the large numbers of Buddhist temples found across the Country. In fact one
can say that to be Thai is to be Buddhist and to be spiritual.

The singular artifact encapsulates the whole purpose of the Buddhism spirituality and the main method of practice. Which is
mediation is the key to enlightenment. Based on this fact we can agree that this piece of artifact is one of the most important
in the museum if not the most important of them all because it encompassed the whole secret of the spirituality of the
Buddhism.

In the researchers opinion this artifact is a gift to the whole of humanity as it mirrors many other spiritual practices which can
be found in other parts of the world. Looking at this piece and analyzing its spiritual symbolism. Similarities can be found in
other spiritual systems like Hinduism, Confucianism and numerous spiritual systems found across Africa like the Nile valley
civilization and the so called red India’s of the American continent that predated Buddhism. One major advantage of this piece
is that it was well preserved and dated as Thailand since its inception as a nation or kingdom has not suffered any form of
colonial interference or disruptions. So the historical records of the country can be said to be accurate and intact as none of
their historical artifacts and edifices has been stolen, looted or pilfered by foreign invaders or historical documents stolen,
destroyed or rewritten by the invaders. As is the case of African countries where whole ancient civilizations has encountered
massive destruction and theft by foreign invaders ,people captured and enslaved and whose major artifacts cannot be found
on the continents any more but in foreign museums across European.

This artifact is an evidence to show that the many ancient civilizations believe man is made of matter and spirit. Contrary to
the position taken by modern science that man is just a composition of random chemicals on a mundane level which is a
position taken by western scientist less than 500 years ago. Indigenous People living in other parts of the world like Asia, Africa
and America believe that man is much more that physical chemicals. There believe that man is also made of a spiritual
essence that can be manipulated and harnessed with the right practices and methods. And this practices and methods have
somehow survived from Ancient times to this present day and is still being accessed and harnessed by people that know how
to do it and the tradition has been passed from generations to generations. However modern science has not been able to
catch up with this aspect of the study of human spirituality as it will continue to be classified as mumbo jumbo or fringe
science or metaphysics. Someone once said that spirituality is science that has not yet been uncovered yet while science is
spirituality that has been completely uncovered. Hopefully one day modern science will eventually catch up with this aspect of
humanity but until then the hidden symbolism and the spirituality of this object will remain a mystery to a great many people.
Bibliography

Kusalasaya, K (2006.) Buddhism in Thailand its past and its present. Retrieved October 11th 2017 from
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/kusalasaya/wheel085.html

Shiva,(2012)Chakras Explained. Retrieved October 11th 2017 from

https://buddhists.org/buddhist-symbols/chakras-explained/

The Free Dictionary,(2017) Definition of Buddha. Retrieved October 12th 2017 from

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Buddha

George, B (1999) The life of Siddhartha Gautama. Retrieved October 10TH 2017 from
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/siddhartha.html.