Lintel Narai Banthomsin

Group of arts and crafts Type of Handicraft

The prototype of Lintel Narai Banthomsin, is one of the four stone lintels of Lopburi art in Thailand. It is a lintel installed at the porch of the outer eastern hall of Prasat Hin Phanom Rung, Nang Rong District, Buriram Province. It is a stone carved image of Lord Vishnu with 4 arms lying on his right side above the dragon’s back. And there is a multi-headed serpent inserted between Lord Vishnu and another dragon.

Several lotus stalks spring up from the back of Lord Vishnu. Brahma is seated above the middle of lotus flower. Lord Vishnu holds a rod, a conch, and a chakra in his left front hand. the left back hand and the right back hand respectively.
At his right hand, the cone-shaped crown, so called Kaponthon, the filter-elbow and striped pleated fabric are around his head.

There are 2 layers of fish tail fabric overlapped in front, fastened with a belt. There is a short Uba hanging to decorate. His wife Lakshmi sits at the foot of his feet. It is believed to have been carved after the Angkor Wat period between Buddhist era 1675-1700.

The stone carving of lintel Narai Banthomsin is inspired by the lintel Narai Banthomsin at the stone castle Phanom Rung (Prasat Hin Phanom Rung).

The Alto-relief sandstone carving is made out of a single huge white sandstone specifically from an ancient sandstone source in Si Kiw district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, where originates various colors of good quality sandstone such as green, yellow, red, white and pink. These rocks are mostly found in the foothills of Khao Yai. It has a tough property with little hardness. So it is suitable for carving and forming the ancient art into a delicate and beautiful workpiece while it is more popular than granite as granite stone carving is often used to emphasize the robust expression of the workpiece.

As the original workpiece’s pattern is truly detailed and delicate, the creator has therefore invented a carving technique and a special carving device to be able to exactly cut the stone into a deep, sharp groove as the original without chipping while the workpiece remains delicately beautiful.

Types :

Stone

Culture :

Khmer art in Phra Nakhon period

Craftsman :

กุณฑฬ โสวาปี

Dimension :

240 centimeters wide, 87 centimeters high, 25 centimeters thick

Source :

บ้านช่างสลักหิน ศูนย์การศึกษานอกโรงเรียนกาญจนาภิเษก (วิทยาลัยในวัง) อ.เมืองพระนครศรีอยุธยาจ.พระนครศรีอยุธยา

Medium :

White sandstone

Date :

2549

Information

Technique : hand-Handmade Alto-relief stone carving, using an extra-long chisel head for deeper stone extraction.
Creating process (in detail) :

Preparation of stone carving
Make a copy and enlarge the size of Lintel Narai Banthomsin image to match the desired size and scale of the workpiece. Then draw a sketch on the paper.
Preparing stone for carving
Select suitable white sandstone specifically from an ancient sandstone source in Si Kiw district, Nakhon Ratchasima province. Then cut and grind the stone into a rectangular shape at the desired length.
Stone forming and carving
Place the sketched paper on the sandstone and sketch the design on the stone with a pencil. In doing so, there must be a plan for carving as the sandstone is a smooth rock which can’t be carved from any part. It must be carved in descending order for its beautiful dimension. Then hew the stone down on the drafted lines for deeper and sharper outcome. Next, extract the unwanted stone from the workpiece until it is nicely carved per the initial design. After the workpiece is carved to its desired size and proportion, finish the detail with a chisel or various types of cold chisel to add refinement and dimension to the workpiece.
Surface polishing and cleaning the workpiece.
When the carving process is completed, abrade the surface of the workpiece with abrasive stone and sandpaper (Coarse sandpaper for wide surface and fine sandpaper for narrow and deep surface.) Then brush and clean the workpiece to its finest result.

Being found at Prasat Hin Phanom Rung, Buriram Province, Lintel Narai Banthomsin is a justly famous antique and a stone carving piece of Art from Lop Buri Art period, influenced by Khmer Art in Thailand. It represents Hindu religious belief; the Vaishnavism sect, which mainly worships Lord Vishnu and it appears in many historical sites of Lop Buri Art and Khmer Art both in Thailand and Cambodia.

In addition, in the year 1935, the Fine Arts Department had announced the registration of the historical site of Prasat Khao Phanom Rung as a national cultural treasure, before it was stolen during the Vietnam War. At that time, the lintel pieces were broken into two parts: the first part found in 1965 at an antique shop, while the other was found at the Art Institute of Chicago, USA in 1973. Professor M.C. Supatradis Diskul, the dean of the Faculty of Archeology, Silpakorn University therefore proposed the return of the lintel Narai Banthomsin back to Thailand under the pressure of Thai people in Thailand and USA. towards the Institute of Arts in the process of returning the lintel. The action was seriously continued until the lintel Narai Banthomsin eventually returned to Thailand on November 10, 1988. The lintel was found many areas of damage, including vanishing Vishnu’s face, and some damages at Phaya Swan’s head and Brahma’s head.

“The stone carving Lintel Narai Banthomsin” then is one of the significant masterpieces of Master Suntorn Sowapee, the creator’s father, who is strongly determined to fulfill the perfection of lintel Narai Banthomsin, the piece of Art overwhelmed with historical story that Thai people can learn closely. He took the old picture of Narai Banthomsin in perfect condition, photographed by M.C. Suphattradit Disakul, to be the prototype and completed this masterpiece with a dedicated determination.

“The art of sandstone carving”, influenced by the Khmer Art in the Khmer Empire period is resulted in the great works of art while it transmits a common civilization to Thailand and artisan skills inherited from generation to generation - from his father, Suntorn Sowapee (The National Master Artisan, 2016), to his heir, Kunthon Sowapee.

References

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