Chao Sam Phraya National Museum
พิพิธภัณฑสถานแห่งชาติ เจ้าสามพระยา
- Location: Ayutthaya Historical Park
- Aperture: 1961
- Entrance fee: 200 ฿
- Opening hours: 9am–16pm (daily)
- Specialization: History and art of the ancient capital of Siam, including artifacts, sculptures, and relics
The Chao Sam Phraya National Museum is located on Rochana Road, opposite Phranakhon Si Ayutthaya Rajabhat University and not far from another museum, the Ayutthaya National Art Museum.
The museum was specially built to display the artefacts excavated from Wat Rachaburana and Wat Mahathat, excavated and restored in 1957 and 1958 respectively.
The national museum was inaugurated on December 26, 1961 by HM King Rama IX. As an interesting side note, the construction of the Chao Sam Phraya Museum was financed by the proceeds from the public auction of votive tablets discovered in the crypt of Wat Rachaburana.
Because many of the objects displayed in the museum essentially come from the pagoda (prang) of Wat Ratchaburana , it was thus named after the king who ordered the construction of the temple, namely King Borommarachathirat II by his dynastic name, or Chao Sam Phraya.
The Chao Sam Phraya Museum has undergone a well-deserved renovation, showcasing rare and interesting artifacts to a much better standard. Its major highlight is undoubtedly the new wing housing the galleries displaying the superb gold treasures excavated from the temples.
Ayutthaya: birth of an art and architecture in its own right
Founded in 1350, Ayutthaya quickly became an important city , exerting its influence throughout the region and making the kingdom a powerful and wealthy state. During its golden age in the 16th and 17th centuries, "Siam" traded with numerous Asian countries, as well as several major European powers. This wealth was reflected in the many religious buildings constructed during the various reigns of the kingdom's powerful kings.
Although influenced by previous kingdoms such as Sukhothai (which coexisted with Ayutthaya for almost 100 years) or Lopburi, Ayutthaya evolved and eventually developed its own architecture and art. The stucco reliefs, wall paintings, wood carvings and gold ornaments resulting from this era demonstrate the skill of Ayutthaya's craftsmen.
The museum collections
The museum includes thousands of artifacts and objects, including numerous Buddha statues, votive tablets, gold artifacts, and other treasures recovered from several temples forming the historical park during excavations and restorations undertaken in the late 50s . These collections are distributed across three buildings that make up the museum.
The museum's three exhibition buildings display objects from different periods. The collections span from the Dvaravati period (6th-11th centuries) to the modern Rattanakosin era. Other exhibits include various ceramics, traditional painted textiles, and ceremonial cabinets. These cabinets were once used to store Buddhist scriptures in the temples of the ancient capital.
Location of the Ayutthaya National Museum
Main building
The main building is the original structure built for the creation of the museum in the early 1960s. Here you will find various archaeological objects discovered during the excavations of 1957-1958, including Buddha statues dating from the Dvaravati period (which spans from the 6th to the 11th century), Lop Buri (in the 12th and 13th centuries) and of course the entire period relating to Ayutthaya (from the 13th century until its fall at the end of the 18th century).
Among these unique pieces is an 800-year-old bronze Buddha head found at Wat Thammikarat in Ayutthaya. Another example is a 12th-century Khmer-style sandstone statue depicting the seven-headed naga standing above the Buddha as protector. One of the oldest pieces in the museum is another sandstone statue, this one of the Buddha seated with his right hand in the teaching gesture (known as Vitarka mudra), a Dvaravati-style piece estimated to date from between the 7th and 11th centuries.
Besides the Buddhas, you can see magnificently carved gables, as well as carved wooden door panels that miraculously survived the fires. On the ground floor, for example, you can admire the wooden doors from one of the viharns of Wat Phra Si Sanphet – quite something.
Upstairs , the corridors display a collection of votive tablets, most of which were found in the crypts where the urns of deceased kings were kept. There is also a variety of other objects such as ceramics, painted fabrics, cabinets, and of course, more Buddha statues.
Ayutthaya Gold Treasure Exhibition Building
This is the new annex building, specially built to display the gold treasures discovered in the Ayutthaya Historical Park. I had the opportunity to visit it more recently, and unlike before, it is now perfectly possible to photograph the interiors of the magnificent gold pieces displayed here.
This is certainly the strong point of the Chao Sam Phraya Museum . Spread across an annex building located behind the main one, you have new rooms with air conditioning and even controlled humidity for those containing particularly precious objects, recovered mainly from the crypts of Wat Ratchaburana and Wat Mahathat.
Among them are gold artifacts studded with precious stones, royal insignia, bracelets, headdresses, necklaces, suspenders, rings, and gold votive tablets that demonstrate the great skill of the artisans of the time. Beyond the material itself, they are of inestimable value to archaeologists, as they attest to the existence of royal insignia previously only mentioned in a stone inscription.
Since ancient times, it has been a royal tradition linked to Brahmin religious rites that the king receives five main royal insignia as symbols of royalty during his coronation. These five main royal insignia were as follows:
- The Sword of Victory (Phra Saeng Khan Chai Sri)
- the royal staff or scepter (Tharn Phra Korn)
- a pair of royal fans (Walawichani)
- a fly whisk (Phra Saw Chammari)
- a pair of royal slippers (Chalong Phra Baat Cherng Ngorn)
Put that way, the objects in question might seem amusing, but they have a symbolic meaning behind them. These royal insignia symbolized the king as a warrior:
- protecting his people (the sword);
- in order to render justice and fairness (the stick);
- the people's acceptance (the slippers)
- and the king's obligation to ward off any evil that threatens his people (the fan and the whip).
As Wat Rachaburana was a cremation site for the royal family in the 15th century, it is assumed that the cremated remains of Chao Sam Phraya's father (the ruler for whom the museum is named), King Intharacha (who reigned from 1409-1424 ), were buried with his most important personal effects, including his crown (called Phra Maha Phichai Mongkut, or Crown of Great Victory) as well as the famous five insignia and other religious objects, offerings, and royal utensils.
As a reminder, the excavation of Wat Ratchaburana was rushed following the passage of looters who had notably entered the crypt of Wat Mahathat , it is assumed that the royal crown and the scepter are among the looted objects, since they have never been found to this day… Some of the main royal insignia have however been recovered.
The most important of these is the sword, 115 cm long and richly decorated from hilt to scabbard with gold plates bearing floral motifs, adorned with a few precious stones—a true work of art that probably belonged to King Intharacha 600 years ago. The rest are unfortunately only miniature reproductions (albeit still in pure gold), probably created specifically for the funeral.
A second room houses an exhibition of gold offerings discovered in situ in the crypt of the main tower (Prang) of Wat Mahathat. The most important is a gold reliquary in which a relic of the Buddha was enshrined. Among the other objects is a solid gold lion, itself seated in a fish-shaped vessel decorated with a gold motif and filled with other gold accessories.
The traditional Thai house
This is the "3rd building" comprising the museum; on the side you have a traditional wooden house , on stilts, housing some artifacts, including Buddha statues and pottery.