Ayutthaya - Wat Ratchaburana
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Wat Ratchaburana was erected by King Boromracha II (1424-48) in memory of his elder brothers Ay and Yi, killed in a duel over the succession to the throne. Columns and walls of the wiharn still stand, as do some ruined chedis around the prang and also parts of the surrounding walls complete with lancet gateways. The large prang with its fine figured stucco, portraying nagas supporting garudas, is exceptionally well preserved.
The two crypts in the lower part of the prang contain some exceedingly interesting wall paintings, probably the work of Chinese artists who settled in Ayutthaya and had the skill to harmonize such different styles as those of the Khmer and Burmese on the one hand and of Lopburi and Sukhothai on the other. While excavating in the prang between 1956 and 1958 archaeologists discovered more than 100,000 votive tablets, known in Thai as "phra phim". These were later sold and the proceeds used to build the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum.
The two crypts in the lower part of the prang contain some exceedingly interesting wall paintings, probably the work of Chinese artists who settled in Ayutthaya and had the skill to harmonize such different styles as those of the Khmer and Burmese on the one hand and of Lopburi and Sukhothai on the other. While excavating in the prang between 1956 and 1958 archaeologists discovered more than 100,000 votive tablets, known in Thai as "phra phim". These were later sold and the proceeds used to build the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum.
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