Silver Pagoda
Silver Pagoda Wat Ubaosoth Ratanaram (Wat Preah Keo Morokot) Temple of the Emerald Buddha | |
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វត្តឧបោសថរតនារាម (វត្តព្រះកែវមរកត) | |
Religion | |
Affiliation | Theravada Buddhism |
Location | |
Location | Samdech Sothearos Blvd (3), Phnom Penh |
Country | Cambodia |
Geographic coordinates | 11°33′45″N 104°55′54″E / 11.56250°N 104.93167°E |
Architecture | |
Founder | King Norodom |
Completed | 19th century |
The Silver Pagoda is located on the south side of the
The
The wall that surrounds the structures is covered with
It is a notable wat (Buddhist temple) in Phnom Penh; Its grounds being used for various national and royal ceremonies. The cremated remains of Norodom Sihanouk are interred in the stupa of Kantha Bopha located on the temple's compound.
History
Preah Keo Morakot temple does not have monks, so King Norodom Sihanouk went to live there during the construction of Preah Phnos for a year (on the 14th day of the second month of the year). On Kor Nopvasak, BE 2490 (July 31, 1947), he was ordained as a monk and took the Temple of Preah Keo Morakot as a place of dharma learning in the practice of the Buddhist Dharma daily. Due to the fact that Preah Keo Morakot Temple had a monarch as a monk, this temple was renamed Wat Ubaosoth Preah Chin Rangsey Reachea Norodom Ratanaram (
Mural on the walls of the Wat
On the walls of the temple cloister are paintings that tell the story of the Reamker from beginning to end. This mural was painted in 1903-1904 by 40 classically-trained Cambodian artists under the direction of temple architect Oknha Tep Nimit. Starting from the eastern gallery on the south side and surrounding the entirety of the temple grounds, it extends 642 meters long and 3 meters high. Visitors can interpret the story of the Reamker by circuambulating the outer galleries. The ancient paintings around the Reamker gallery show the peculiarities that are not captured or completely copied from the Indian Ramayana because in Reamker the story seems to be somewhat inaccurate. Today, these paintings are in a state of disrepair and are slowly disappearing due to weather and rock-eating germs, as well as human-caused vandalism. In 1985, the Cambodian government collaborated with the Polish government on a project to protect and restore the paintings, but the program lasted only five years with an insufficient and limited budget which expired before substantial completiong. With a royal decree from His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk, in 2015, the project was revived with the cooperation of a group of foreign and Cambodian craftsmen, which has restored the original vibrancy and definition of the myriad figures, buildings, and vegetation depicted throughout.
Gallery
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The Emerald Buddha of Cambodia
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Golden Maitreya Buddha weighing 90 Kg and dressed with 9584 diamonds 1906-1907.[5]
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The Silver Pagoda in 1904
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Mural depicting stories of the Reamker prior to the 2015 restoration.
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Portion of a 1903–1904 mural in Phnom Penh's Silver Pagoda
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A decorative column figurine (Kinnara)
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Stupa of King Norodom Suramarit
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Stupa of Kantha Bopha
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The Silver Pagoda in 2013
References
- Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ISBN 978-9924-9078-5-5.
- ISBN 978-974-9511-39-8.
- ^ http://www.iias.nl/sites/default/files/IIAS_NL71_0607.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ISBN 978-0-86442-174-6
Literature
- Lenzi, Iola (2004). Museums Of Southeast Asia. Singapore: Archipelago Press. p. 200 pages. ISBN 981-4068-96-9.