The art and architecture of India - Buddhist, Hindu, Jain (Art Ebook)

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and later a Burmese style of building; the final
development of Siamese architecture, like that
of sculpture, is in the direction of Rococo richness
of detail and a decorative rather than functional
consideration of structure. The earliest
sanctuaries in Siam proper, like the temples at
Sri Deva, are the exact equivalents of the sixthand
seventh-century buildings in Funan. The
form of the sikhara tower and the employment
of the roll cornice and protome window are,
like the pre-Khmer spires at Sambor, at once
reminiscent of the Pallava style. 3
The shrines at Lopburi, the capital of the
Khmer Period, are closely related to the tenthand
eleventh-century buildings at Angkor. Wat
Mahadhatu (Mahat'at) at Lopburi is a typical
example of the Siamese temple of the Khmer
Period [364]. In plan it consists of a sikhara
preceded by a closed mandapa, so that the
resemblance to Indian temple plans is obvious.
Both elements are set on a common basement
storey in the manner of some of the shrines at
Pattadakal. The sikhara itself bears a certain resemblance
to the towers of Angkor Wat. Although
constructed in diminishing storeys, the
division into horizontal rings of masonry is not
present, as in the great Khmer sanctuary. On
the spire of Wat Mahadhatu the corners of each
level are marked by spiky acroteria, which serve
to make a vertical transition from level to level.
Plainly derived from Khmer prototypes are the
richly carved lintels and flame-shaped pediments.
It will be noted that the successive
stages of the sikhara have diminishing repetitions
of the pediment shape, as in some of the
towers of the Late Classic Period in Cambodia.
A rather puzzling but interesting monument
of Siamese architecture is Wat Kukut at
364. Lopburi, Wat Mahadhatu