The Bureau of the Royal Household found more than 130 stone sculptures while itwas performing road maintenance near a wall of the temple. Following thediscovery, His Majesty the King tasked the Fine Arts Department with excavatingand restoring the statues to their original state. The restored statues werethen displayed for domestic and international tourists to admire in thecourtyard of the temple.
Some historians believe the sculptures may have been imported when the Kingdomof Siam was trading with China in the early Rattanakosin era. Merchants wouldpurchase Chinese stone sculptures to balance the weight of ships on theirreturn trips. These statues were believed to have been placed in the temple aspart of the celebration of Bangkok’s 100th anniversary in 1882.
The sculptures resemble multiple ethnicities, with some carved in traditionalThai attire while others were depicted in Western clothing. Most of thesestatues are in pristine condition due to being buried in mud for a century andsuffering less deterioration than stone statues exposed to the elements./.
VNA