Wat Pho in Bangkok is a very famous temple situated close to the Grand Palace. Most sight-seeing tourists who visit the city go there to see the 46m-long reclining Buddha plus the rest of the striking buildings and historically-rich, rambling grounds. Having been constructed as an ongoing process during the reign of several different Rama-dynasty Kings, there is always some alluring contrast in style and many, many intricate details to explore.
It is also a place famous for the sometimes quite painful massages on offer, with Wat Pho being the national centre for traditional Thai massage and herbal medicine. Also, many of the inscriptions, sculptures and artwork on show were originally commissioned to help educate the Thai populace. The temple is therefore recognised as Thailand's first public university.
When I first went many years ago one of the details that struck me was how all the granite statues of soldiers, guards and others were very individual. They were far from replicas of each other, each having been created as an individual character. At the time it made me wonder about the craftsmen who made them. Did they have the freedom to create whatever look and expression they wanted or was there a supervisor telling them what to do? Are these actually statues of real people perhaps? Friends, family, noblemen? Maybe even self-portraits? Whoever they were they undoubtedly add a lot of character to the history and culture of Wat Pho.
An unintended juxtaposition highlighted the statues' individual character for me. A half-filled rubbish bin had been carelessly placed next to one statue who seems to be looking at the trash with an expression of distaste and one hand on his hip. He looks unimpressed and yet the expression and pose are so well done that I am left wondering if he is actually checking to see if anything of interest has been thrown in there.
The real story of the origins of these statues adds more flavour. They actually arrived in Thailand as ballast in Chinese trading ships and then found a new role in life at Wat Pho (and a few other temples in Bangkok). So perhaps it went something like this: they were lovingly created by skilled sculptors in China and displayed around an important building; the site got ransacked by outsiders and abandoned; the statues found a new, practical use in the bottom of ships where their artistry was unvalued and forgotten in the vessels' dank bowels; they finally got rediscovered by an enterprising Thai person and were brought back into the light on foreign soil.
Beyond this conjecture, their real origins and the craftsmen who created them are unknown. Most of their facial appearance and attire is more Chinese than Thai, although some of them do also clearly include some European influence. I'm sure their prominent place in one of Thailand's most revered temples would be a real surprise to the original craftsmen who made them so long ago.
It is tempting to assume that the statues' journey has ended at Wat Pho but part of me hopes that long after we have all gone the statues will still be smirking and grimacing somewhere or other. Quite possibly exactly where they currently are except under several metres of sea-water thanks to climate change. An underwater sculpture park with coral polyps giving them even more personality!
Thanks for viewing.
