Thailand
Thailand’s culture, geographic location, and the political relationship they shared with their neighbors, created an environment which promoted many different styles and schools of art. Thailand, like Cambodia, is more than 90% Buddhist. Thai people are some of the sweetest and most devoted people found anywhere. Thai art closely parallels Thai spirit and Buddhist philosophy. Thai art remains today a very important part of Thai life.
Because Thailand is surrounded by Burma, Vietnam, and Cambodia, one can see influences from each culture in Thailand’s artifacts. Scholars studying Thai art have distinguished seven main schools of art with no great unity between them. There are three similarities that seem to exist with each school of art. First are the local circumstances, for example, if a particular type of stone or row material used for carving or dressing isn’t available in the area. The second similarity is that each of these schools shared cultural history and certain traditions such as ceramics and modeling. The third, and probably most influential of these similarities, is the constant predominance of Buddhism.
The seven schools, and a brief description of each, follows.
The first of these schools was called the Dvaravati Schools (7th – 11th Century). The artistic output of this period was quite broad and diversified with a special attention on Buddhist inspiration. During this period, the Mon culture was the predominant culture. It is best known for its sculptures, usually of clay, and decorated with stucco and, less commonly, terracotta. The two sculptures most represented were either the Buddha images or sculptures depicting the wheels of justice (or of the law).
The second school was called the Srivijaya School (8th – 13th Century). This school was developed because of the expansion of the Sumatran Kingdom. This period, and the sculptures being produced, were influenced greatly by the Indonesians.
The third school was the Lopburi School (7th – 14th Century). For my personal taste, I have always appreciated two distinct periods of history for their exquisite pottery. One of these times in history was the Chung Sha period of pottery during the Tang Dynasty of China, and the second was the earliest history of the Lopburi period in Thailand, dating back to 1500BC. One can see an influence from the Khmer styles in this art. These two styles of pottery far exceed most other styles of pottery for me.
The fourth school was known as the Sukhothai School (13th – 15th Century). This school was born out of the waning influence of the Khmer in this region. The Sukhothai school (despite its short life) was knows for its uniqueness of style and quality as related to the architecture, ceramics, and sculptures, to mention a few. There was a strong sense of beauty during this period of art and the affects of this school were felt for a long time to come by future artists and the artistic community in general. This was a period of unrivaled spirituality and excellence of craftsmanship.
The fifth of these schools was the Lan Ne school (13th – 20th Century). With the overthrow of the Mon Kingdom so was born the Lan Na period. This period found its roots in Chaing Mai (Northern Thailand). Because of its proximity to Burma, one can find influences carrying over from both Burmese and Cambodian style. As much as the architecture of this school progressed, the sculptures and sculpting received less attention and praise.
The sixth of these schools was the Ayuthia school (14th – 18th Century). This, the Lopburi, and the Sukhothai schools were probably the three most influential periods regarding the development of pottery and sculptures in Thai history. During this school, we see the development of a style of art called “U Thong” (13th – 15th Century). This U Thong style refers only to Buddhist art and represents a strong influence from the Sukhothai period. From the 15th Century on, this was the most influential force on Thai art.
The last of the seven schools was called the Bangkok school (18th – 20th Century). One can easily see how each of these schools often overlapped the same time frame as other schools. This period, more than any other, allows us to appreciate the quality, richness, and refinedness of Thai art. The architecture of the great monasteries of Thailand during this period was unparalleled. One can find an increased influence of Chinese style on the Thai art of this period.