Lao Buddhist sculpture

Lao Buddhist sculptures were created by the Lao people of Southeast Asia. They are typically made of bronze, although gold and silver images can also be found. The Vat Manorom is believed to be the oldest colossal Lao Buddhist sculpture. Today, the sculpture gardens of Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat provide a modern twist to the ancient tradition.

Lao artisans have, throughout the past, used a variety of media in their sculptural creations. Of the metals, bronze is probably the most common, but gold and silver images also exist. Typically, the precious metals are used only for smaller objects, but some large images have been cast in gold, most notably the Phra Sai of the sixteenth century, which the Siamese carried home as loot in the late eighteenth century. It is enshrined at Wat Po Chai in Nongkhai, Thailand, just across the Mekong River from Vientiane. The Phra Sai's two companion images, the Phra Serm and Phra Souk, are also in Thailand. One is in Bangkok and the other is in Lopburi. Perhaps the most famous sculpture in Laos, the Phra Bang, is also cast in gold, but the craftsmanship is held to be of Sinhalese, rather than Lao, origin. Tradition maintains that relics of the Buddha are contained in the image.

Bronze is an alloy of copper, containing about two percent tin. Other materials are often added, however, and the balance of ingredients determines the characteristics of the bronze. In Laos, like Cambodia and Thailand, the bronze, which is called samrit, includes precious metals, and often has a relatively high percentage of tin, which gives the newly-cast images a lustrous dark gray color. Other images, such as the Buddha of Vat Chantabouri in Vientiane, have a higher copper and, probably, gold content that give them a muted gold color.

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