Naga Art in Buddhist Temples of Mueang Chiang Mai District
13TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THAI STUDIES GLOBALIZED THAILAND? CONNECTIVITY, CONFLICT AND CONUNDRUMS OF THAI STUDIES 15-18 JULY 2017, CHIANG MAI, THAILAND Naga Art in Buddhist Temples of Mueang Chiang Mai District Chang, Ya-Liang Department of Southeast Asian Studies National Chi Nan University Taiwan -------------------------------------------- Abstract Chiang Mai was the capital of the Lanna Kingdom from the 13th century, the city has many important Buddhist temples. This study involved field research, recording Naga arts in 34 Buddhist temples of the Mueang Chiang Mai District. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the characteristics of Naga art in northern Thailand. The results of this research are as follows: (a) in terms of motifs, the mom om nak motif is the most important characteristic of Naga art in northern Thailand; (b) in terms of shape elements, the Naga stair works of various historical periods represent different technical methods involving materials, shapes, lines, and colors, with the most obvious difference being the crest design; and (c) in terms of features, Naga works with horns and the use of the Lanna painting pattern in the chest pattern are unique in Northern Thailand. To sum up, the main characteristic of Naga art of northern Thailand was influenced by Lanna culture, as revealed by their motifs, shapes, patterns, etc. Keywords: Buddhist art, Chiang Mai, Naga Introduction “Naga art” refers to the Naga-themed art forms that make use of materials such as clay, plaster, wood, gold, silver, or copper, which can often be molded in three dimensions. Although Naga art is popular in Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, etc., little research has been conducted on it.
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