Equestrian statue of King Chulalongkorn

Equestrian statue of Chulalongkorn the Great is an outdoor sculpture in cast bronze at the center of the Royal Plaza in Bangkok, Thailand, honoring King Chulalongkorn. It was erected on 11 November 1908 to commemorate his 40th anniversary of his accession to the throne, the longest-reigning monarch in Siamese history at that time.

The statue is cast in bronze. It is 5 meters in height and weighs 6 tons. It is attached to a 25-centimeter thick bronze base on top of a 2-meter-wide, 5-meter-long and 6-meter-tall marble pedestal.

The statue itself depicts Chulalongkorn in military uniform of Field marshal, wearing his decorations; he holds the reins in his left hand and a baton in his right.

The statue stands at the center of the Royal Plaza, facing southwest towards Ratchadamnoen Avenue. It lies to south of the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, to the west of Suan Amphon and to the east of Sanam Suea Pa.

It was believed that Chulalongkorn had desired for an equestrian statue since he was a young King. In the 13 June 1874 edition of The Illustrated London News, it was reported that a silver equestrian statue of Chulalongkorn was cast by an English metallurgist of the Messrs. Hunt and Roskell by Chulalongkorn's commission. However, there are no other source or evidence that mentioned of this fact.

During Chulalongkorn's second 'Grand Tour' of Europe in 1907, he visited the Palace of Versailles in France and made a remark that he was impressed by the Equestrian Statue of King Louis XIV and thought that if an equestrian statue of him were to be erected at a plaza between Ratchadamnoen Avenue and the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, it would be majestic which were similar to other modern nations in Europe.

...
Wikipedia