Restoration begins at Thailand’s Wat Arun, Temple of Dawn

[News Bandit]

BANGKOK, Sept 3 – Brahmin and Buddhist blessing ceremonies have been held to initiate restoration of the Khmer-styled stupa at the Temple of Dawn, Wat Arun, a major Bangkok historic site and tourist attraction.

Culture Minister Sukumol Khunploem and Phrathep Mongkolrangsri, Temple of Dawn abbot, presided over the ceremony.

A budget of Bt500,000 will be spent on the restoration, expected to be complete within two months.

The Fine Arts Department will repair the horse statue’s head using a traditional stuccowork technique and painting from models of the remaining heads of other horse statues housed in nearby stupas.

The head of a horse statue, part of a temple stupa, fell off last month after enduring weather changes, heavy rain, strong winds and scorching sunlight. A similar incident happened last year.

After surveying the damage, the Fine Arts Department said the overall stupa structure is still strong and intact.

The temple’s last large-scale restoration of all its stupas, sponsored by the government, was done 50 years ago. (MCOT online news)
 

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