A Movable Throne Preaching Canopy from Wat Thasalaram in the Thammasat Museum of Anthropology: The Conservation Process and a Reflection on Phetchaburi Preaching Canopy Culture in the Early Twentieth Century

Abstract

            A movable throne preaching canopy was relocated from Wat Thasalaram to the Thammasat Museum of Anthropology for conservation by academic experts, Phetchaburi craftspeople, and museum staff members and volunteers following Phetchaburi tradition. The artifact is among fewer than 70 preaching canopies discovered in Phetchaburi. Iconography and available sources suggest that the preaching canopy was made by Wat Phlapphlachai craftspeople from 1917 to 1931. The artifact also reflects Phetchaburi's preaching canopy culture among bourgeois religious patrons in the early twentieth century. Surviving preaching     canopies may be divided into three groups according to surrounding events and social contexts: those produced in the first (1877 to 1930); second (1935 to 1947); and third phases (1948 to 1966). Each phase has its own distinctive artistry due to stylistic differences.