November 2010 - National Museum Volunteers

This statue of King Mongkut is now in Wat Bowonivet, the royal temple where the King
founded the Thammayut sect of Thai Buddhism and where he was chief abbot during a
portion of his twenty-seven years in the monkhood
What is really interesting about this statue is that it contested the superstition
that image-making of a living person, including photograph, portrait and sculpture,
was harmful to the individual. The royal support of realistic art signified a
new beginning of Thai politics. From this time on, the living elite became more
willing to utilize their image for personal and political purposes.
The superstitious belief that portraiture or photo-taking would capture the soul
of the person has positively impacted the status of monumental art. Many Thai
people are convinced that the spirits of the revered personality or at least some
part of his or her essence inhabit the sculpture or picture. Consequently artwork
sometimes becomes a spiritual representation of that person and often becomes
a place of worship
. November 2010 . Newsletter National Museum Volunteers . 25