THE
INDIANIZATION OF
THAILAND

It is unclear what became of the indigenous populations of prehistoric Thailand. They probably continued to clear the jungles, cultivate rice and produce utensils and art objects as before, but the artistic flame which burned so brightly at Ban Chieng and other sites seems to have dimmed for several centuries (at least until the next archeologist's shovel strikes new evidence that proves otherwise).

Throughout the first centuries A.D. following the decline of Ban Chieng, new peoples were arriving in Southeast Asia. Indian merchants seeking new products and markets began moving eastward. Unlike many gypsy merchants, they sought to set up trading posts at key ports of call, integrating themselves into the local communities. In the process, they introduced new concepts including art subjects and techniques.

The effect of these and later Indian adventurers on Thai art and life cannot be overemphasized. Indian architecture, art, government, philosophy, religion and literature had an incalculable impact on Thai (and most of Southeast Asian) art, far more than China, which is geographically and racially more akin to Thailand. In the initial stages, Indian influence was direct- artifacts and ideas- but long after trade was taken over by local merchants, India would continue to have an indirect effect through the arrival in Thailand of other people who themselves had come under the same Indian influences and created art reflecting the philosophical, religious and artistic concepts of the sub continent.

The art of Thailand in the 1st through 6th centuries A.D. (and to the 8th century in the South), is characterized by a total Indian domination either by imports of statues or by local creation of sculptures and other objects which were copies of Indian works or whose stylistic elements can be directly traced to a particular Indian school of art. Indian concepts would continue to influence Thai art until the 16th century.

Early artists concentrated on creating images to serve the Hindu religion that most of the inhabitants of the region professed. After the 5th century, sculptors began producing Buddha images, a reflection of changing religious beliefs. Over time, the creation of Buddha images became sculptors' principal activity, though they would continue to produce Hindu images until the 19th century.

Limestone Vishnu, 67 cm. tall, found at Wat Sala Thung in Chaiya. Early-Gupta influence is evident mi its modeling and costume Originally dated to the 5th century, recent research has suggested it may have been created in the 4th century (Bangkok National Museum)

Found at Nakhon Si Thammarat, this 78 cm. tall stone Vishnu dates from the 5th century. (National Museum, Nakhon Si Thammarat)

Art of the Peninsular Region

From early times, Indian sailors had been masters of the seas. Contemporary accounts say their ships were 200 feet long and capable of carrying 700 persons swiftly through stormy weather and choppy waters, a feat the Chinese ships were unable to duplicate until much later. in their trading ventures with East Asia, the Indian merchants established halfway points to serve as supply ports, sources of new products and markets for their goods. Chinese annals of the 3rd century A.D. note the existence of more than 10 coastal kingdoms hugging the shoreline of the Gulf of Thailand, usually at the mouths of rivers where they were receiving points for goods from the jungled interiors of the peninsula. Their local rulers welcomed the products these travelers from the west could bring them.

The most important of the 10 kingdoms was Dan Sun, which flourished from the 3rd to the 5th centuries. Stretching across the peninsula in the region of Surat Thani, Dan Sun was a well organized state whose artisans possessed considerable expertise in casting bronze as evidenced by bronze drums found at several sites.

The principal remains of the culture - stone statues of Vishnu -have been found north and south of the kingdom. The four-armed Hindu god stands stiffly erect with shoulders thrown back and is wasp-waisted and thick-hipped. One, from Wat Sala Thung in Chaiya, dates from the 4th century and is reminiscent of Gandhara art of northern India. Two others, from Nakhon Si Thammarat, have thick bodies and reflect local influence in the face and decoration. The images have caused problems for art historians, some of whom ascribe them to the Srivijaya school and date them as 8th-9th centuries works.

In the 5th century, Dan Sun was eclipsed by two neighboring kingdoms: Chi Tu to the north near Chaiya, which would subsequently be the stronghold of the Srivijayan culture in Thailand, and Dan Dan near Phatthalung. At Dan Dan, departments and divisions were charged with overseeing the daily affairs of the kingdom, suggesting a high level of social organization and economic development. Court functions were lavish as noted by Chinese visitors in the 7th century, who marveled at the sumptuousness of the palace and the pomp of state ceremonies held to receive them.

No examples of architecture remain from this period, and there are no contemporary descriptions of building design. If the buildings were made of brick, the construction material for later monuments, it is likely they were destroyed by nature over the centuries. What is more likely is that, as is still the case in many parts of the South and in Malaysia, the principal buildings were made of wood which eventually succumbed to the damp and insects.

By the 6th century, artists were moving into new areas of expression. Chinese annals noted that in the year 530 A.D., a Dan Dan mission to the Chinese imperial court took gifts including a hibiscus flower made of gold, two ivory images and two carved stupas, all of them dedicated to Buddha, reflective of a new change that had come to the people of Thailand north and south: the conversion to Buddhism.

Vishnu from Takua Pa, 2.02 m. tall and dated as late as the 8th-9th centuries. The Takua Pa style is characterized by the loose pleats that bang down the front. (Bangkok National Museum)

This figure of Avalokitesvara, 2i cm. tall, dates from the 6th century and is the earliest bronze image of a Bodbisattva found in Thailand. (Phra Narai Nat. Mus., Lop Buri)

This 2.35 meter 7th-century stone Vishnu, heavily-influenced by the Pallava style of India, was the central figure of a group of three which were enclosed by two trees in the area of Takua Pa. Vandals cut off its head. Later study showed that the head had been added at a later date to replace the original head. When the statue was excavated, half of the real head was found buried near it. The head was reunited with the body and the restored statue is now displayed in the National Museum of Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Stone Vishnu from Dong Si Mahaphol standing 448 cm. tall on a 74 cm. pedestal shaped like a stake that could be driven into the ground to anchor the statue. (National Museum, Prachin Buri).

Stone linga from various sites in the area of Nakhon Si Thammarat. (National Museum, Nakhon Si Thammarat)

Supreme artistry is displayed in numerous Buddha images in bronze and stone which bear more than a small resemblance to their Gupta and other south Indian predecessors. The finest examples among the standing Buddhas appear to have been imported from India. They are denoted by the very pronounced pleating of the robes which leaves the right shoulder bare, by the left hand grasping one end of the robe, and by their flat curls, all of which suggest origins in the Amaravati school.

One of the finest pieces is a Meditating Buddha carved of limestone sometime in the 6th century by an artist of Dan Dan. The seeming solidity of the piece, the curls in precise rows and ranks, the absence of a well-defined robe, the thick lips and features suggest an amalgam of several Indian schools together with local styles. It is an unpretentious piece ably reflecting the peace the meditating Buddha has achieved.

Votive tablets made of sun-baked clay and dating from the 7th century have been found in Songkhla, Krabi and elsewhere. Measuring up to 1 0 centimeters high, they are crudely fashioned and devoted to Buddhist subjects, portraying, for example, Buddha delivering a sermon usually to disciples or deities. Other objects from this period include terracotta figurines which show strong Amaravati influence. Artists of the 7th century also produced some fine pottery, normally with flared mouths and red bands around their necks.

The North

In the North, Indian merchants moved across the mountains of Burma on their way south to the mouth of the Chao Phya River or east to Indochina. One of the earliest archeological finds from this period is a bronze Roman lamp thought to have been cast in Alexandria, Egypt in the 3rd century AD. It was discovered at Pong T uk, Kanchanaburi on the route from Burma that crosses the Bilauk Mountains at Three Pagoda Pass.

Statues of Vishnu and linga carved with the face of Siva (Sivalinga or Mukkalinga) have been found at various sites but not in the numbers discovered in the South. Among the more intriguing finds are three terracotta pieces dubbed "Boy with a Monkey" which were unearthed in the Chao Phya Valley and may date from as early as the 5th century. The boys' heads are missing but their youth is captured in the bodies' poses and the vitality of the pieces is conveyed in the face of the frightened monkeys that cling to their legs. It is not certain what purpose these charming pieces served but they are a testament to a keen eye and a humane spirit. Indian presence is also evident in the pottery found in 6th century Chansen.

Art of the 1st to 6th centuries was also heavily influenced by the kingdom of Funan to the east, which seems to have exercised political control over the valley populations. Funan is another of those shadowy empires about whose origins little is known and about whose people even less is certain. It arose in Kampuchea in the 1st century AD. and flourished until the 6th century when internal dissention began to weaken it. Judging from Buddha images found in Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Pathom and U Thong, it was, like the South of Thailand, heavily lndianized from an early date, perhaps by the same people who crossed Thailand from west to east in the early centuries of the millennium. There have even been suggestions their progenitors were Indonesians who sailed the open seas to settle there. It is recorded in the 10th and 11th centuries, "vicious, black Indonesians" made numerous raids on Angkorian territory, looting small towns before retreating to their boats. Chinese accounts note that by the 3rd century, Funan had expanded to the shores of the Gulf of Thailand and had sent envoys bearing vassalage to the courts of China.

This 5th-6th century sandstone tablet of Buddha is modeled on the Sarnath School of the Indian Gupta period. The 17 cm. piece was found at Wieng Sa in Surat Thani. (formerly in Bangkok National Museum, now moved to the Wat Phra Mabatbat Museum, Chaiya)

Boy with Monkey, this pair of red terracotta images are 8 cm. tall and date from the 4th-5th centuries. Found in U Thong (U Thong National Museum)

A bunze 20 cm. standing Buddha in the gesture of abbaya mudra. It has been variously dated between the 5th and 6th centuries. (National Museum, Nakhon Si Thammarat)

A 1.04 meter tall, 6th century stone meditating Buddha on a lotus seat from Wat Boromathat in Chaiya. (Wat Phra Mahaibat Museum, Chaiya)

Stone Buddha images of the Amaravati style are among the most important finds from Thailand's Central Plains during this period. It is not certain if they were originally created in Funan or taken there from India aboard merchant ships and later transported to Thailand. Within a short while, however, craftsmen in Thailand were creating art with decidedly new, non-Indian characteristics. One of these images found its way to Songkhla. Carved late in the 6th century, it features a square head with very large hair curls, the barest hint of a robe, a small ushnisha and narrow eyes. Narrow waisted, it is well proportioned and demonstrates a pleasing solidity and serenity.

In addition to Buddha images, Valley sculptors continued to fashion statues of Hindu deities. In contrast to the earlier period when images were between 15 and 70 centimeters tall, later Hindu statues were generally life-sized or taller. Moreover, they were of superior workmanship, as if over the centuries, the carvers had gained a better grasp of their art and a firmer hand on their chisels. The most outstanding pieces were among a series of 7th century stone Vishnus found at Dong Si Mahapot. Two other creations of this period worth noting are two Chinese statues found in Phetchaburi which are in the Sui period style of the late 6th-early 7th century.

The name Funan has also been given to a particular style of pottery. Early Funan pottery (250-450 A.D.), is divided into two types. The first comprises solid gray-black wheel-thrown pots with incised decorations on the shoulders. The second group includes small jars with flared mouths as well as brightly burnished red-orange bowls.

The term "Later Funan" (450-600 A.D.) is applied to a rich variety of pottery styles. Hand-molded figurines, lamps, seals, and shallow bowls with bevelled rims and dark gray, glossy surfaces are its most important representatives.

Found at U Thong were a brick carving of three monks with alms bowls and a kinnari made of stucco. More than likely they were early works by a school that was just beginning to try its wings: the Mon, or as it is also known, the Dvaravati school, the first truly indigenous school of art to emerge in Thailand.

1. 48 m. stone Vishnu from Wieng Sa district of Surat Thani province which has been dated as early as the 6th century. It is similar to the Vishnus of the southern peninsula but the body is more muscular and wider hipped. It is recognized by the sarong, which is twisted at the waist suggesting a belt, and by the roll of pleats which [all to the ground to support it. (National Museum, Bangkok)

1.48 m. stone Vishnu from Dong Si Mabapbot. (National Museum, Prachin Buri)

86 cm. remains of a stone trident, possibly carried by Siva. Found at Dong Si Mahaphot. National Museum, Prachin Buri).

Bas reliefs on the wall of Phra Ngam cave near Saraburi depict Buddha, Brahma, Vishnu and flying figures. Dated from the 7th to 9th centuries.

Excavations at the Chedi Chula Paton site at Nakhon Pathom have revealed a wealth of stucco images, this Dvaravati Buddha head 28.8 cm. tall dating from the 8th century among them. (Bangkok National Museum)