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WAT BENCHAMABOPHIT NATIONAL MUSEUM

            WatBenchamapophit National Museum, consisting of Phra Vihara Somdet, the Gellery surrounding the Ordination Hall and Sala Bannarosphak, houses historical objects and art, including Buddha images, some ancient, of various periods and postures.

1.PHRA VIHARA SOMDET

            Phra Vihara Somdet, one of the most important sites in Wat Benchamabophit Dusitwanaram, was built from the funds of Her Majesty the Queen Sipatcharin in 1902, in accordance with the wishes of His Majesty the King Chulalongkorn, as a scripture hall mamed “Buddha Satsana Sangkhaha Hall,” generally known as “Phra Vihara Somdet”. In 1905 HM the King Chulalongkorn merged the Buddha Sasana Sangkhaha Hall with the Wachirayan Library, creating a repository for Buddha images, Dharma (scripture) cabinets, Tripitaka canon, Chinese porcelain, etc. The large initial collection of Buddha images from the provinces was placed in the cloister around the temple. This area became crowded, so the Phra Vihara Somdet was used to house Buddha images, as well as important historical objects and artwork.

            Important Buddha images that are smaller than the images in the cloister are housed in Phra Vihara Somdet. These images were collecled from temples in Bangkok and various locations around the country, as important esthetic and stylistic examples of Buddha images of each period, including Lanna, Sukhothai, Ayudhya and Rattanakosin.

            Asio housed are 28 Buddhist manuscript cabinets, is various styles including singha, thao singha (lion legs, standing on a ball), and Kha moo. Evidence indicates that some of these came from temples in the Bangkok area, including Wat Hongsa Rattanaram in Thonburi.

2. GALLERY SURROUNDING THE ORDINATION HALL

            Wat Benchamabophit houses many important Buddha images in addition to a replica of the Buddha Chinnarat, the principal image in the temple, and they are located in the cloisters and other temple buildings.

            HM the king chulalongkorn commanded HRH Prince Damrong Rajanuparp to search for exemplary Buddha images in Bangkok, throughout Thailand, and in Foreign countries, and he placed 52 Buddha images in the chapel ( the last one acquired after his death). Thesearches sometimes met with difficulties -  for example, the images from the principal of Chiang Saen “had to travel by boat along the Mekhong river to cross the Kok river and land at Chiang province and [were then] carried on shoulders to Phayao province.” The images for the cloisters had to meet certain standards: craftsmanship, how well they displayed Buddhist characteristics, and size. It was difficult to acquire only ancient Buddha I,ages to meet the criteria, so some images were cadt by enlarging amall ones or reducing large ones, and some were modeled after stone Buddha images and funded by the faithful to the King. When the people discovered who would create the images following the King’s desired model for Placement in the chapel at Wat Benchamabophit, they were glad to help.

 3. SALA BANNAROSPHAK

            This single story building has four gables, and the walls are of brick and plaster. The Floor is Paved with marble tiles funded by 15 princes, princesses, lady consorts and relatives of HM the King Chulalongkorn, the 5 reign.

            Inside the eastern angle are eight Buddha images of esthetic value, but which didn’t fit the criteria of those in the cloister.