Figure of Buddha subduing Mara

Ayutthaya’s location in the lower Chao Phraya basin and relative proximity to the Gulf of Thailand were key advantages in its maritime trade – in fact the state’s ascendancy has been characterised as ‘rising’ from the sea rather than land. Ayutthaya was also a state held together by Buddhism, a complex system of social control and a royal court which was the focus of political and cultural power. The Buddhist statuary of Ayutthaya incorporated influences from the Khmer style and Sukhothai art. Later Ayutthaya developed a distinctive iconography, especially visible in images of the Buddha in regalia, wearing royal apparel including a crown, stressing the strong link between religious faith and kingship.

In the north, the Thai kingdom of Lanna, or Lan Na (capital, Chiang Mai) established by the Mangrai dynasty in 1292, flourished until the Burmese invasions of the late 16^th century, after which power was mostly held by the Burmese, until the 18^th century.

The Buddhist statuary of the Lanna region is of a particular style, a school quite distinct from that of Sukhothai or Ayutthaya.

Following Burmese invasions and final fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, the Thai capital moved south, first to Thonburi and from 1782 onwards to Bangkok. These events were reflected in art and architecture. Buy the early to mid-19th century Chinese influence had entered the visual repertoire of the arts of Thailand. From the mid-19th century onwards western and Sino-European styles and imagery became fashionable, while still adhering to Siamese and Buddhist traditions.

Images of the Buddha are not portraits in the usual sense but convey meaning through a set of conventional elements. His positions and gestures, for example, enable identification of a particular moment in the Buddha’s life.