Thai Elephant Statues in Singapore, Jakarta, and Ho Chi Minh City
Art, Diplomacy, and the Projection of Power
Abstract
In Singapore, Jakarta (Indonesia) and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) stand bronze elephant statues gifted by Thai kings in 1872 and 1934 respectively. The monuments were designed to commemorate the kings’ visits to these cities and visualise royal power. The article contextualises these statues in diplomatic practice and contemporary politics, in their cultural setting and symbolism, as well as in the history of secular bronze sculpture in Thailand. The statue in Ho Chi Minh City is identified as the first major bronze statue to be cast at the foundry of the Fine Arts Department in Bangkok in 1932.
References
Archival sources
National Archives of Thailand (สำนักหอจดหมายเหตุแห่งชาติ), Bangkok (NAT)
KT 7 Foreign Affairs, Royal Visits (กต 7 เสด็จประพาส)
R.7 RL Seventh Reign, Royal Secretariat (ร.7 รล กรมราชเลขานุการ)
ST.0701 Office of Secretariat of Fine Arts Department (ศธ.0701 สำนักงานเลขานุการกรมศิลปากร)
Vietnam National Archives Centre II (Trung Tâm Lưu Trữ Quốc Gia II) Ho Chi Minh City (VNA II)
Records of the Government of Cochinchina (Fonds du Gouvernement de la Cochinchine, GOUCOCH)
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Bangkok Times (Bangkok)
Bataviaasch Handelsblad (Batavia)
France-Indochine, La Dépêche Coloniale, La Dépêche d’Indochine, L’Echo Annamite, Les Annales Coloniales, L’Illustration (All Saigon)
Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, Straits Budget, Straits Times and Straits Times Overland Journal (All Singapore)
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