Reconstruction of Ban Tanod Colossal Bronze Bodhisattva, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand

Disapong Netlomwong (Fine Arts Department of Thailand)

Abstract

In 1961, the head of an unidentified Bodhisattva was unearthed at Ban Tanod village, Non Sung District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, together with six other parts. The head is 70 cm high and is regarded as the largest bronze Bodhisattva ever found in Thailand and in the Plai Bad-Prakonchai art style. It was eventually sent for restoration in France and returned to Thailand after that. The head of the Bodhisattva has since been exhibited at the National Museum Bangkok, in the Lopburi gallery where it was interpreted as Khmer art in Thailand. The six other sections were kept in storage for more than 60 years. Recently, the National Museum developed a plan to renovate the Lopburi gallery which included a proposal to reconstruct and permanently exhibit the whole Bodhisattva. The reconstruction team included curators, conservators, artists and sculptors, and new technologies such as 3D scanning and printing were employed. Now standing at 275 cm high, the reconstructed statue is exhibited in order to give the visitor an original perspective on the Bodhisattva.  During its reconstruction curatorial discussions addressed not only the rejoining of the physical body of the Bodhisattva but also the revival of its spiritual power. This talk will discuss this new interpretation, ritual implications evidenced by 3D scanning, and the visual perceptions of worshippers who associate closely with the statue’s original form and gesture.  It will also demonstrate how these interpretations led the curatorial plan to relocate the Bodhisattva in the new gallery.

Reconstruction of Ban Tanod Colossal Bronze Bodhisattva, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand

Speaker Biography

Disapong Netlomwong is Senior Curator of the Office of National Museums within the Fine Arts Department of Thailand. As Director of the Research Division, he supervises academic research projects and exhibition interpretives, for example at the Prachinburi National Museum, Ban Kao National Museum, and the “King Chulalongkorn Memorial Exhibition” in Nordkapp, Norway. He is also assistant secretary of ICOM Thailand National Committee. He completed his undergrad degree in Art History at the Faculty of Archaeology, Silpakorn University and Post-graduate Diploma in Preventive Conservation of Cultural property at the University of Paris I (Panthéone-Sorbonne). He was curator of three museums: the Thalang National Museum in Phuket (2001-2004), the National Museum Bangkok (2004-2010) and the National Gallery of Thailand (2010-2014). He collaborations with international exhibitions include: “A Passage to Asia: 25 Centuries of Exchange between Asia and Europe” at BOZAR, Brussels (2010), “Trônes en Majesté: L'Autorité et son symbole” at the Chateaux de Versailles, France (2011), and “Enlightened Ways: The Many Streams of Buddhist Art in Thailand” at the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore (2012). His ongoing research addresses the reinterpretation of foreign artefacts in the collections of the national museums of Thailand.

Organiser: SOAS Centre of South East Asian Studies and SOAS Southeast Asian Art Academic Programme

Contact email: centres@soas.ac.uk