In commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the International Council of Museums, the National council of museums of Thailand arranged an exhibition of masterpieces from private collections at the Bangkok National Museum from the 6th March-6th April 1968. Many famous art collectors in Bangkok participated in this exhibition from H.M. the King downwards and it was attended by 77,235 visitors. Art objects of Sukothai period, regarded as the best period of Thai art, will be described.
In the exhibition entitled "The Arts of Thailand", which recently completed a tour of the United States and which will later be seen in Europe, there's a bronze image of the standing Buddha wearing the crown of royalty. The image which is 1.87 m. high and belongs to the Monastery of the Fifth King (Pencamapabitra), Bangkok, is of unknown provenance; and until recently its date was a matter of doubt. Though crowned Buddhas are rare in Sukhothai art, it is clearly a work of that school. We can be sure from the face, the suave modeling, and especially the ‘hallmark’ in the form of the little hooks at the lower coners of the robe. The figure ought to be dated in the 15th century, a time when Sukhothai had already lost its political independence (to Ayutthaya), but not its artistic inspiration.
