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Location of Ban Krang Monastery
Ban Krang Monastery is located on the West bank of
Tha ]een River in Ban Krang sub-district of Suphanburi
Province. The monastery was built sometime in the
Sixteenth Century during the Ayudhaya Period.
Suphanburi Province is only one hundred kilometers
away from Bangkok, rich in tradition and historical
heritage, it occupies over 5,000 square kilometers and
administratively divided into 10 districts.
The Origin of Ban Krang Religious Icons
It was believed that those religious icons were made
during the reign of King Naresuan the Great (1590 -
1605) which was in the middle of Ayudhaya Period.
It was also reputed to commemorate the victory over
the Burmese king in the gory battle on the legendary
war elephant’s back over four hundred years ago.
Not until one hundred years ago had religious
icons from the famous Ban Krang Monastery been
accidentally unearthed by the collapse of ancient stupa
located next to the river bank (see picture below).
Abbot Sawai, former abbot, who passed away for
over twenty years ago along with my other acquaintance had recounted in anecdotes as well as in memoirs freely distributed during funeral rites of deceased persons that reside in the vicinity of Ban Krang Monastery alleging that local people were not interested in collecting religious icons of Ban Krang Monastery in the beginning.
The texture of religious icons from Ban Ktang
There are two major kinds of texture - coarse and
refine - but the main key components are quartz and
clay. For religiously votive icons of coarse texture,
they are similar to dried tofu or sponge but with lots
of clay interspersed with quartz. When submerged
in warm water, the icon will emanate strings of air
bubbles so fine they are resembling beer suds due to
its porous texture. On the other hand, the Ban Krang
religious icon of refine texture will have more clay than
the coarse type but again the texture is still embedded
and interspersed with quartz. Once closely examined
through 10X magnifying glass, one could easily spot
that the texture of the icon is pitted and shriveled due
to exposure of changing temperatures over several
centuries in the crypt beneath the stupa near the
riverbank of Tha ]een River.
The Coloration of Ban Krang Icons
Through my own experience plus other observations
from avid collectors of religiously votive icons of Ban
Krang Monastery, the dark reddish brown with a tad
of orange tint are the most prevalent followed by the
colors of yellowish brown and light gray icons. The
rarest of them all is the dark olive green.
Other points of observation for authenticity
- Every pieces of religious icon from Ban Krang
Monastery has embedded bits and pieces of laterite.
- Fast mold and mildew stains on icons that are difficult to remove.
- Wood grain marks embedded at the back of icons
created accidentally when religious icons were first
air-dry on Wooden planks after icons were made and
finished centuries ago.
- Rectangular shaped pockmarks the size of a small rice grain that are perceivably scattered throughout the front and back of the icon due to the disintegration
of organic matters embedded in the riverbank clay.
- The surface texture are perceivably pitted and
shriveled in most cases.
Uncanny experiences:
Luang Por Sawai, the former abbot of Ban Krang
Monastery, along with my other acquaintances have
recounted several annecdotes of victims of both
serious accidents and armed robberies who mysteriously escaped all of those mishaps unscathed with the help of only faith in religious icons of the Ban Krang Monastery that they carry with them.
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