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The displayed of objects and antiques are divided into three parts
as follows;
1. Ramkhamhaeng National
Museum building;
2. Lai Sue Thai Memorail
building;
3. Outside the Museum
building (outdoor museum)
The art objects and antiques
displayed in Ramkhamhaeng National Museum would mostly be those
of the Sukhothai style collected by the Department of Fine Arts
renovative and restorative excavation of ancient remains in the
area of the old town of Sukhothai since 1953 and part of them obtained
from the areas of the neighboring ancient towns like the Town of
Sisatchanalai, Kampaeng Phet, Phetchabun and Phichit, another part
of them being those given by Phra Ratchaprasitthikhun, a former
abbot of Ratchathani Temple and Chief Abbot Sukhothai Province and
the People. The art objects and antiques displayed are inscription
stones of the Sukhothai age, Sangkhalok crockery, Buddha Images
of various styles, molded Buddha images obtained from the excavations
of ancient remains, idols and ancient weapons.
At the initial stage display
the general form was arranged by dividing the displays into the
sculpture and miscellaneous groups and some changes were maded when
additional art object and antiques were received from time to time.
In 1984, the government
held celebration events of the 700th annivesary of Lai Sue Thai,
the Thai letters of the alphabet, in both Bangkok and Sukhothai
Province. So Ramkamhaeng National Museum improved the display of
its art objects and antiques on this occasion with a style of display
that mainly emphasized art objects and antiques at archaeological
sources so as to inform which objects had been found from the ancient
remains already surveyed and excavated, how they were related with
one another, from which source they had received influence, which
beliefs they were connected with, so as to provide visitors with
an approach to studying and researching.
Lai Sue Thai Memorial
building is a single-floor twin building. Its rooms are arranged
with displays showing stories about the various aspects of the Town
of Sukhothai from the times before the establishment of the Kingdom
of Sukhothai up to the development of the Town of Sukhothai into
a historical park. In addition to this, there are within the building
rooms for meetings, seminars and special lectures; there are a tourist
service section and a book and souvenir selling place.
Display in the Ramkhamhaeng
National Museum building.
Display can be divided into major groups as follows:
1. Molding plaster sculptures
about Buddhism obtained from Phra Phai Luang
Temple and Mahadhatu Temple and human and deva figure sculptures:
the general characters of Buddha image sculptures from Phra Phai
Luang Temple would be as follows: the face is rather round, the
eyebrow arched, the nose high, the lips small and thin, the chin
knotted, the hair top - Knotted into a spiral, the blanket folded
into of the 14th century, whereas the Buddha image sculptures from
Mahadhatu Temple would have an oval-shaped face. As for the human
or deva figure sculptures, those from Phar Phai Luang Temple would
have a rather round face, but those from Mahadhatu Temple, an oval
face.
2. The group of pre Sukhothai
- art sculptures obtained from Ta Pha daeng
Shrine, Phra Phai Luang Temple, Sisawai Temple, classified as lop
Buri art, the estimated age being around the 13th century.
3.
Sukhothai art of the 14th - 15th centuries: Sukhothai art began
from the
declaration by King Si Intharathit of the independence of the Capital
of Sukhothai around A.D. 1237; they are regarded as being the most
beautiful and most unique Thai art, the outstanding character of
which is that the luster is a flame, the hair top - knotted into
a spiral, the face ocal-shaped, the eyebrow arched, the nose bending
(according to the style of great men), the lips a little smiling,
the shoulder large, the waist small, wearing the robe obliquely,
the robe hem long and hanging down to the belly, the end being a
centipede-fan design. The Sukhothai age also preferred making Buddha
image in four gestures, i.e. sitting, standing, reclining and walking.
4. U-Thaong art: there
are both molding - plaster and bronze sculptures of
veneration about Buddism, the estimated age being around the early
part of the 15th century after the occupation of the Kingdom of
Sukhothai by King Pha-ngua and its division into two parts, i.e.
the upper part with phitsanulok as the center and the lower part
with Kamphaengphet as the center in A.D. 1378. The general character
of the Buddha images: the face being quadrangular-shaped the hair
parting line thick, thhe hair top-knotted into a shape like the
thorn of the jack fruit, the crown being cut - lemon fruit shaped,
the luster being flame shaped.
5. Ayutthaya art; the
general characters of the Buddha images diaplayed still
had the influence of the SukhoThai art, the face being oval shaped,
the hair parting line small, the hair top-knotted into a small spiral,
the eyebrow arched, the eye looking low, the nose high, the lips
thin, and in addition to this, in a later period the style of putting
on a dress was preferred, the estimated age around the 15th - 18th
centuries
6. Chinaware obtained
from the renovative excavations of ancient remains in
the Town of SukhoThai, found to belong to both the Yuan, Meng and
Ching dynasties of China;
7. Sangkalok crockery:
Those on display, found in SukhoThai province, have
heir production sources as follows:
7.1
Sukhothai "Thuraing" furnaces, located in the area around
the trenches of Phra Phai Luang Temple outside the old Town of Sukhothai
on the northern side; the crockery from the "Thuriang"
furnaces of this source is rather rough, both of the enameled and
unenameled kind;
7.2
"Thuring" furnaces of playing, Sisatchanalai, preferred
producing large pieces of vessels used for architectural decoration,
e.g. dragon, decorative extension of the apex of the gable and giant;
7.3
"Thuring" furnaces of Koh Noi, Sisatchanalai produced
both the enameled and unenameled types. For buring, the vessels
would usually be placed on pipe supports and when finished would
have a circle at the bottom to symbolize the furnaces.
8. Molded Buddha images;
there are both earthern and lead molded Buddha images, obtained
form Phra Phai Luang Temple Mahadhatu Temple, Pa Mamuang Temple,
For example.
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