Gold sculptures: ancient and modern products

Any Buddhist temple has Buddha statue, and each statue has its own path. But the golden Buddha is from Wat Traimit, located in Bangkok, is unique. If only simply because of its size.

The height of the Buddha from Wat Traimit is almost three meters, the weight of the statue is five and a half tons. The eyes of the Golden Buddha are made of Thai black sapphires, and the whites of the eyes are made of pearls. The statue was cast from pure gold. For many years this wealth was hidden from prying eyes. The statue was located in the former capital Taiwan, in one of the local temples. The Buddha of Wat Traimit was originally thought to be made of plaster. During the difficult years of the war with Burma, all golden statues were covered with a layer of plaster or cement so as not to damage them during transportation or bombing.



The story of the discovery of the Golden Buddha is full of mysticism and mystery, as befits a shrine. When a new temple was built in Bangkok, it was decided not to cast a Buddha statue for it. The existing shrine was brought from Sukhothai. It was a statue Buddhas from Wat Traimit. During transportation, the statue hit the side of the car, and gold shone in the broken gap. When the statue was washed and cleaned, it turned out that it was entirely made of gold. A photograph of the partially freed Buddha from Wat Traimit can be seen in the Temple of the Golden Buddha.



The Golden Buddha is not only one of the most valuable and largest, it is also one of the oldest. According to some sources, the statue was cast 700 years ago during the reign of the king Ramkamhena. The king who ordered the statue tried not only to amaze everyone with the greatness and beauty of the Buddha, but also pursued selfish goals - to preserve the gold. The Golden Buddha contains all the country’s gold, which serves high purposes in one product.

How could it be possible if theoretically without resources ancient civilization move about a million cubic meters of rock? Interestingly, the methods used in Chinese caves are very similar to mining methods today. Archaeologists and historians are trying to explain this type of debt.

Chinese cave results

Golden statue found in Panama. Chinese caves have drawings and inscriptions with traces similar to those left on the Aswan Obelisk in Egypt. The signs on the walls and ceilings are a big mystery, mainly because the Chinese government controls the surveys conducted in these areas. Until very recently, Western researchers were banned from this type of research in China.

History knows many examples when, on the orders of autocrats, statues were cast from pure gold. And these were not just statues, but the largest sculptures made of gold. Why did the rulers (mostly of antiquity) spend gold reserves so irrationally, since the extraction of the precious metal was a slow, extremely labor-intensive, non-mechanized process?

One of the few studies in this area was published in scientific reports by researchers from the UK and China. Scientists have described inscriptions found on the walls of Dayu Cave in the Qinling Mountains in central China. Southern China is also important because it has the largest number of limestone caves in the world. More than thirty years ago, researchers tried to unravel the secrets of these caves, but much remains to be discovered!

How about stopping the chaos modern world, forget the rush and technological excesses and go on a journey in search of inner peace and self-knowledge? In the photos below you can see many temples and architectural complexes in Asia that are full of history, beauty and good spiritual energies that can attract followers from all over the world who travel in search of spiritual evolution.

Perhaps the unheard-of generosity of the rulers was dictated by several reasons:

  • The desire to appease the pagan gods, and at the same time demonstrate the iron steadfastness of the power bestowed by these very gods.
  • By intimidating neighboring states: who wants to start a war (an extremely costly enterprise) with a state that has such untold wealth, which in turn means possessing a powerful, well-armed army.

    So the ancient rulers competed with each other: whoever has the most beautiful and more expensive palace, temple or statue of God is stronger.

    Borobudur, Indonesia

    Considered to be the largest Buddhist monument in the world and one of eight Indonesian sites listed as UNESCO heritage sites, this temple complex in the Kedu Valley covers 64 hectares. Built around 780 with materials of volcanic origin, it has several inscriptions and engravings marked on the stones, and their origins are still unknown to researchers. Originally built to enhance Buddhist practice, the ensemble had already harbored the habits of Islamic religions for a century.

    Prambanam set, Indonesia

    Located in the center of the island of Java, the temples of the region stand out for their interesting architectural designs, which are up to 47 meters high and have sculptures and reliefs on the facades. Its shrines are dedicated to three gods: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. An image of a Murugan deity in Batu Cave in Kuala Lumpur.

It goes without saying that in such cases the rulers of the world were least interested in gold.

Golden statues of Semiramis

Name Babylon, the ruler of Babylon is known not only thanks to the legendary hanging gardens, but also the creation of the largest gold sculpture. Generosity or superstitious fear for the treacherous acquisition of power by the Assyrian queen Semiramis knew no bounds.

It is one of the great attractions that can be reached from Kuala Lumpur, the capital and largest city countries. The caves are over 400 million years old and are home to important Asian temples. Among the local attractions is a statue of the Hindu god Murugan, the god of war, made from steel bars and measuring 43 meters in height, surpassing even Christ the Redeemer.

Known among tourists as the Royal Chapel, this grand Thai palace belonged to the country's ancient monarchy. Its interior is preserved by the Temple Emerald Buddha and is considered the only temple in Thailand that does not have monks. Around it, statues of mythological figures of Buddhism attract the attention and camera of tourists, since the outside is the only thing that allows visitors to register.

A thousand Babylonian talents, or 30 tons of pure gold, in modern terms, were spent on the creation of a 12-meter divine statue. The deity sat on a throne, next to which stood a golden table and chair, and altars for animals. Within the Esagila (temple), there was another golden statue of a deity 6 meters high, symbolizing Babylon.

Wat Arun Temple, Bangkok, Thailand

Wat Arun, the Chao Phraya River, caps off a fantastic triad of temples in central Bangkok, as well as Wat Pho and Wat Phrao Heo. Considered one of the main Buddhist temples in the capital of Thailand, Wat Arun shines with beauty soon to match its name, which loosely translated means "Temple of the Dawn".

Kiyomizu-Dera Temple, Kyoto, Japan

The 80-meter-tall building, built in the 18th century, features Chinese porcelain mosaics and is located above the Praia River. Access to the building is by boat - more than 15 different companies offering the service. Considered one of best temples in Japan, Kiyomizu-dera is part of a complex historical monuments ancient Kyoto and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

But the size of the pagan statues did not satisfy the queen’s passion for large golden idols, so she ordered an even more grandiose statue - the golden goddess Rhea - to be cast from pure gold. It took 250 tons of gold to build the throne, two golden lions that stood on both sides of the throne and the pagan goddess herself, the foremother of all gods, sitting royally on it.

Founded in 798, it was baptized with the same name as a nearby waterfall, meaning "clear water" in Portuguese. The temple hosts events promoting Buddhist practice and receives a large number of pilgrims from all over the world. Among its sites is the Jishu Temple, dedicated to the god of love Okuninushi.

Its main attraction is that its architecture is entirely covered in gold leaf. The fame of the temple made it win two replicas in Brazil: in Curitiba and in Itaquerique da Serra. The temple is considered one of the most important of Nara's many shrines, temples and holy places, which are listed as World Heritage UNESCO.

It was impossible to convict the beautiful queen of commercialism - but the golden idols did not save their ardent admirer from a tragic fate; Semiramis was killed by her own son.

Khan Batu: half a kingdom for a horse

Another famous lover of giant gold statues was Khan Batu, who at one time plundered countless amounts of precious metal. The Mongol conqueror had so much gold that he did not come up with more the best way applications, how to cast two life-size horses from yellow metal.

Located near the Hage Palace, it attracts travelers through its expansive Great Buddha Garden and the world's largest bronze statue of Vairocana Buddha, one of the Five Great Buddhas of Meditation. The interior is decorated with wood carvings and is the chosen place for classes of the Japanese Kegon school of Buddhism.

Detailed statues and carvings form the setting of one of the most important Buddhist temples in China. It has the same name as the mountain in which it is located and is surrounded by picturesque trees. Founded by the monk Hui Li in 326 BC. A long raised platform links the Temple of Prayer of Good Harvest with the Circular Altar.

Expert opinions regarding the weight of horses differ greatly, but the figures are still impressive: each horse weighed from 1.5 to 8 tons. Not surprisingly, the density of gold is 19.32 g/cm³, only the platinum group metals are heavier! Golden horses adorned the capital of the Golden Horde, Sarai-Batu, for a century, passing into the possession of one khan to another. The further fate of the statues is unknown.

Its structure is designed for a circular room with three terraces of white marble, called the "Room of Prayer" by Good Harvests; a room connected by a path of stone and tiles, which leads to a Circular Altar formed by nine steps; and finally, the Heavenly Imperial Vault, surrounded by a wall that promotes the echoes of internal sounds.

For centuries, it served as the residence of imperial families until the entry of the republic into the country, becoming a temple and combining Chinese and Tibetan elements in its architecture. The interior consists of bronze statues and various scriptures. It also hosts events hosted by the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism.

Egyptian ruler: everything for the sake of fertility

Ptolemy Philadelphus, the ruler of Hellenistic Egypt was distinguished by his particular sophistication (perversity?): on his orders, a phallus crowned with golden crowns was cast from the purest gold. The length of the precious reproductive organ was 120 cubits (60 meters), the diameter was 6 cubits (3 meters), it was carried around the city by a thousand bulls, leaving ordinary townspeople in complete amazement.

Nepal is the birthplace of Sidartha Gautama, the Buddha. Despite the predominance of Hinduism, Buddhist elements are a permanent part of the local landscape, such as the Swayambhunatha step in Kathmandu. Known as the Monkey Temple due to the colony of these animals living in part of the complex, this Tibetan temple is surrounded by a wide variety of trees on its hill.

Considered one of the most sacred pilgrimage sites in the country, the site consists of stupas, temples and shrines and completed construction in a year. At the top of its structure there is a detail that attracts attention: these are the “eyes of Buddha”, a painting representing the four directions. The complex also includes a library, museum, shops, restaurants and dormitories.

However, there is little eroticism as such here, since the phallus was traditionally considered a symbol of fertility and honoring it was considered quite normal - after all, they wanted barns full of bread.

Today, you can feel the ambitious boldness of the plans of the rulers of past times in the temple of Bangkok's Chinatown, where the largest gold sculpture, the Buddha statue, rests. The weight of the golden Buddha is almost 6 tons, the height is 3 meters, and its age is not small - almost 8 centuries.

Stupa Fa, Luang, Vientiane, Laos

Situated in the center of Vientiane, this golden Buddhist stupa, covered in legal gold, was built from a year in which its architecture is completely lined with typical Laotian elements, referencing the country's inherent nationalism and appreciating its culture and identity.

Built in a pyramidal format, it is 45 meters high and has beautiful gardens and statues in its surroundings. In its interior, a wide and well-kept green area leads to delicate paintings and sculptures, as well as beautiful altars. This Buddhist temple, built in the ancient capital of the Silla Kingdom, was built around 735 and contains many significant treasures for the country, such as gilded bronze Buddha statues and well-detailed altars.

Among the representatives of modernity, the British have distinguished themselves - sculptor Marc Quinn recently created a sculpture of the famous English top model Kate Moss. For more information about this, watch the video: