ArTs

Group 5

Water Pavilion,

1924

Bang Pa-in, Thailand,

That Luang Stupa,

Vientiane, Laos, 1566 restored 18th and 19th centuries one of the Stupa Terraces at Borobudur, Java, 8th Century

A Dhyani-Buddha on

Water Pavilion
The Summer Palace [ Bang Pa-In Palace ] is located 30 kilometers south of Ayutthaya on route to Ayutthaya and is on a small island called Bang Pa-In in the Chao Phraya River. The Palace was commissioned in 1632 by King Prasat Thong in the late Ayutthaya Period.

It was deserted following the sacking of Ayutthaya and the founding of the Chakri Dynasty in Bangkok until its restoration 80 years later. The Palace was revived by King Chulalongkorn of the Chakri Dynasty. Most of what we see today was constructed between 1872-1889.

The Palace is a collection of different styles of buildings set in a landscape and water setting. The mansions reflect Chinese, Swiss, Khmer, Thai and general European styles of architecture. As with other Thai Royal palaces this compound is divided into two sections, the Inner Palace and the Outer Palace. The Palace grounds are significant in that the mixture of styles reflects the era of transformation, influences and later westernization of the period.

The History of Bang Pa-In Palace. A local, Chao Phraya Kalahomee Suriyawongsa became King of Ayutthaya in 1630 and ruled until 1655. He became known as King Prasat Thong. King Prasat Thong had his home on the Island and this was also where he was born and later declared King. A pavilion, '' Aisawandhipaya-asana'' was constructed to mark what the King declared was '' born here and made King''. He subsequently arranged the digging of canals which remain today. After that time the Ayutthaya Kings made Bang Pa-In their residence which was close to the City of Ayutthaya.

The original works of Kinmg Prasat Thong still there to see today are, the Pagoda at Chumpon Nigayararm Monastery, the Canal that cuts through the existing islet marking the division between the Summer Palace and Nives- Dhammaprawat Monastery and some of the ponds around the Summer Palace. King Narai was born in 1632 and to mark the occasion King Prasat Thong had the Pavilion built over Bang Pa-In Islet. The Palace became deserted upon the destruction of Ayutthaya by the Burmese in 1767.

Restoration commenced during the reign of Rama IV. During the reign of Rama V most of what you see today was constructed. Henceforth the Summer Palace was used as a location to receive state visitors and hold state banquets. An example of such events was the reception in 1890 for Grand Duke Czarvitch [ later Czar Nicholas II of Russia ] and Prince George of Greece.

Water Pavilion, Bang Pa-in, Thailand

That Luang Stupa

Pha That Luang (Lao: , IPA: [p tt lw] 'Great Stupa') is a gold-covered large Buddhist stupa in the centre of Vientiane, Laos. Since its initial establishment suggested to be in the 3rd century, the stupa has undergone several reconstructions until the 1930s due to foreign invasions to the area. It is generally regarded as the most important national monument in Laos and a national symbol.

Pha That Luang according to the Lao people was originally built as an Indic temple in the 3rd century. Buddhist missionaries from the Mauryan Empire are believed to have been sent by the Emperor Ashoka, including Bury Chan or Praya Chanthabury Pasithisak and five Arahata monks who brought a holy relic (believed to be the breast bone) of Lord Buddha to the stupa. It was rebuilt in the 13th century as a Khmer temple which fell into ruin.

In the mid-16th century, King Setthathirat relocated his capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane and ordered construction of Pha That Luang in 1566. It was rebuilt about 4 km from the centre of Vientiane at the end of That Luang Road and named Pha That Luang. The bases had a length of 69 metres each and was 45 metres high, and was surrounded by 30 small Stupas.

In 1641, a Dutch envoy of the Dutch East India Company, Gerrit van Wuysoff, visited Vientiane and was received by King Sourigna Vongsa at the temple, where he was, reportedly, received in a magnificent ceremony. He wrote that he was particularly impressed by the "enormous pyramid and the top was covered with gold leaf weighing about a thousand pounds". However, the stupa was repeatedly plundered by the Burmese, Siamese and Chinese.

Pha That Luang was destroyed by the Thai invasion in 1828, which left it heavily damaged and left abandoned. It was not until 1900, when the French restored to its original design based on the detailed drawings from 1867 by the French architect and explorer Louis Delaporte. However the first attempt to restore it was unsuccessful and it had to be redesigned and then reconstructed in the 1930s.

ARCHITECTURE
The architecture of the building includes many references to Lao culture and identity, and so has become a symbol of Lao nationalism. The stupa today consists of three levels, each conveying a reflection of part of the Buddhist doctrine. The first level is 223 feet by 226 feet, the second is 157 feet along each side and the third level is 98 feet along each side.[3] From ground to pinniacle, Pha That Luang is 147.6 feet high.

The area around Pha That Luang is now gated, to keep traffic out. Previously visitors could drive around the whole complex. The encircling walls are roughly 279 feet long on each side and contain a large number of Lao and Khmer sculptures including one of Jayavarman VII.

BOROBUDUR
Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9thcentury Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument consists of six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside a perforated stupa.

Evidence suggest Borobudur was constructed in the 9th century and abandoned following the 14th century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam. Worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, then the British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by native Indonesians. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage; once a year Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument, and Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction.

BUDDHA
Apart from the story of the Buddhist cosmology carved in stone, Borobudur has many statues of various Buddhas. The cross-legged statues are seated in a lotus position and distributed on the five square platforms (the Rupadhatu level) as well as on the top platform (the Arupadhatu level).

The Buddha statues are in niches at the Rupadhatu level, arranged in rows on the outer sides of the balustrades, the number of statues decreasing as platforms progressively diminish to the upper level. The first balustrades have 104 niches, the second 104, the third 88, the fourth 72 and the fifth 64. In total, there are 432 Buddha statues at the Rupadhatu level. At theArupadhatu level (or the three circular platforms), Buddha statues are placed inside perforated stupas. The first circular platform has 32 stupas, the second 24 and the third 16, that add up to 72 stupas. Of the original 504 Buddha statues, over 300 are damaged (mostly headless) and 43 are missing (since the monument's discovery, heads have been stolen as collector's items, mostly by Western museums).

At first glance, all the Buddha statues appear similar, but there is a subtle difference between them in the mudras or the position of the hands. There are five groups of mudra: North, East, South, West and Zenith, which represent the five cardinal compass points according to Mahayana. The first four balustrades have the first four mudras: North, East, South and West, of which the Buddha statues that face one compass direction have the corresponding mudra. Buddha statues at the fifth balustrades and inside the 72 stupas on the top platform have the same mudra: Zenith. Each mudra represents one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas; each has its own symbolism.

END OF OUR

PRESENTATION
Thank you for listening

and understanding!
Group 5