13 January 2018 Saturday
Visiting the Chiang Mai National Museum

Today is my Australian friend Tom’s last full day in Chiang Mai. He starts his journey home tomorrow after yoga and a farewell lunch. After our exposure to a less-known part of Chiang Mai’s history with our visit to Wiang Kum Kam, Tom asked me if I had been to the National Museum next to the Wat Jed Yod grounds. I have been to Wat Jed Yod several times, but never to the museum, so a visit seemed appropriate.

The museum is managed by the Fine Arts Department of Thailand and is a very nice review of the history of the Lanna kingdom up to modern times after Lanna became part of Siam and then Thailand.

Photographs were not allowed everywhere, but I was able to get pictures of three significant works.

The first is a Buddha head unearthed in the area. If the whole statue were intact, the seated Buddha statue would be quite large – the head itself is almost 2 meters high.

A very impressive bronze work. I did not record the age, but it is several hundred years old. Only the head was found.

The second work is this fairly elaborate Buddha footprint.

Much of this is copper with the reddish parts a gemstone. I should have photographed the description in English. This is one of the more significant acquisitions of the museum.

I have seen a few other Buddha footprints, and it is obvious that they are not the footprints of a man, being that this one is about 1.5 meters high (4 – 1/2 feet high), and another I have seen is larger. I was told that there are very few “official” buddha footprints. There is a story to these, and I will continue investigating.

The third work is this very old bronze Buddha statue. Again, I should have photographed the description. My attempts to find details on the internet have failed – descriptions are available in Thai, but not in English.

The entire visit to the Chiang Mai National Museum was of interest. A very well-done and comprehensive look into Lanna and Chiang Mai history.

Next: West side of the moat/wall and a second visit to Wat Lok Molee