The portraits before the reign of King Rama IV

Abstract

Sculptures before the reign of King Rama IV are generally selfportraits of monks. They were significant examples of the changes to Thai sculpture from traditional, idolized representative images to the realistic images.

The styles of early portraits (during King Rama II-early King Rama III period) showed human anatomy such as protruding eyebrows, cheekbones, muscles, neck ligaments and clavicle fractures but they still have less detail than the portraits in the late Rama III period. This realistic trend not only exists in Thai sculpture, but also paintings and literature as well.

Despite being created realistically, these types of images serve as an object of worship as the people believed that these sculptures can bless the people who worship them.