Antique Thai Buddhist painting on cloth, Phra Malai

Antique Thai Buddhist Banner Painting, multi-coloured tempera and gold leaf on cloth, depicting Buddha Descending From Tavatimsa Heaven. An illustration o...

Antique Thai Vessantara Jataka Scene Painting on Cloth, Rattanakosin School, 19th Century. A classical scene from chapter 12 in the next-to-last life of the Buddha wherein Vessantara...

Antique Thai White Elephant Painting on Cloth, Rattanakosin School, 19th Century. A painted scene of two white auspicious elephants in a landscape setting. In Thai Buddhist folklore,...

Antique Thai Buddhist Gilt Bronze Figure of Phra Sangkachai, Rattanakosin Kingdom, late 19th Century. This rotund figure of a corpulent monk sits cross-legged with hands around his large belly on a tiered plinth. The patterned robe and cloth hanging down in the front of the plinth are typical of Rattanakosin decorative style. The bronze casting has a hard clay core remaining and is lacquered overall in black and red with a gold leaf finish.The Thai Phra Sangkachai also known as Phra Mahaccayana (Pali: Mahakaccayan, Sanskrit: Mahakatyayana) may have originated from early Theravada Buddhist traditions of the Mon culture in Burma as a wealth-bestowing deity. From the Lotus Sutra, chapter 6, he is named as an Arhat (one who attains Enlightenment) and is revered for his ability to explain the dharma teachings in a clear manner. He is sometimes confused with the Chinese Laughing Buddha...