​

The NMV German Guides meet regularly twice a year to discuss relevant issues, just chat or welcome new guides to our group. As the Covid restrictions have been finally lifted, we decided to venture out and do something educational together, while also having fun at the same time.

So off we went to visit the newly opened 'Golden Treasures' exhibition in the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum, Ayutthaya. The drive was shorter than anticipated but left us enough time to catch up during the journey.

​

The exhibition showcases mainly treasures found in the crypts of Wat Ratchaburana and Wat Mahathat. Most of the objects date back to the 15th and 16th centuries CE and are of enormous archaeological importance.

In the lobby of the museum, Khun Wanlee, the director, introduced us to four enthusiastic students who guided us through the exhibition. Each of the students was responsible for two of the eight galleries, which span almost 3,300 square meters.

The first two galleries display objects recovered from looters who dug into the crypt under the main prang of Wat Ratchaburana in 1957 and from excavations by the Fine Arts Department (FAD) in 1958. The compelling story about the looting of the crypt of Wat Ratchaburana would provide enough material to write a book or make a movie. Despite the rampant looting, when the FAD’s archaeologists excavated all three chambers of the crypt, they still found more than 2,100 artefacts, many of them in gold and elaborately decorated with gemstones.

​

The highlights of the first gallery are the royal regalia, royal accessories used in royal ceremonies and a small crown, called Chula Mongkut. The Sword of Victory, part of the royal regalia and also known as 'Phra Saeng Khan Chai Sri', is showcased prominently at the entrance of this gallery. It is 115 cm long, placed in a golden scabbard decorated with floral and flame-like motifs and studded with gemstone-like coloured glass. We were astonished to learn that the artisans of the early Ayutthaya period were so proficient and skilled at creating coloured glass to resemble gemstones. Several royal utensils for the monarchs' personal use are also on display in this gallery as is a charming golden elephant adorned with gemstones. Besides ornaments such as necklaces, bracelets, bangles and rings, we were intrigued by a headdress for a female aristocrat, woven with gold threads.

​

On the walkway to the next gallery, we passed a model of Wat Ratchaburana, which provides the visitors with an idea about the former glory and size of this temple compound. The following space is an imitation of the crypt of Wat Ratchaburana. There you can admire a gilded 'miniature' prang, about one meter in height, an abundance of silver and gold votive tablets and most importantly the relics of Lord Buddha. The layout of the space and the light have been designed in such a way that visitors can visualise the ambience within the crypt. Copies of the upper two chambers' murals decorate this gallery's walls. The FAD worked with a Japanese company to replicate those murals using cutting-edge ceramic tile printing technology.

​

The following gallery explains the traditional beliefs surrounding the enshrinement of relics, which Siam inherited from India, illustrated by a 3D model of the 'Great Stupa' at Sanchi, India.

​

The next galleries exhibit relics and Buddhist offerings from Phra Chedi Sri Suriyothai, Wat Phra Si Sanphet and Wat Phra Ram, all located in Ayutthaya.

​

The last gallery houses an exhibition of Buddhist offerings discovered in the crypt of the principal prang of Wat Mahathat and most importantly a golden reliquary containing Lord Buddha's relics. These relics had been enshrined in seven stupa-shaped containers, made from different materials such as bronze, silver, ivory, wood, and gold. The sixth vessel is a crystal stupa, in which a tiny golden casket with a lid houses the relics, which are only about one-third of the size of a rice grain.

​

Other attractions in the Wat Mahathat gallery are a gilded fish-shaped vessel, filled with various gold accessories and a solid gold, lion-shaped box in Chinese style, with rubies as eyes.

​

We browsed through the museum for about two hours. We would have liked to have had more time to explore the numerous interactive touchscreens and learn more about the objects, Buddhist traditions and royal ceremonies of that period. However, as Ayutthaya is just an hour away from Bangkok, we will be back again to visit this splendid exhibition.

​

As it was such a nice day, we decided to visit Wat Choeng Tha, located in the north, outside the moated city, on the river bank, opposite the ancient palace of Ayutthaya.

​