PRESENTING A GORGEOUS Early 20C Thai Seated Boy Emperor Polychrome Statue.
Made in Thailand in the early 20th Century, circa 1935 – 40.
Hand carved wooden statue which has been hand-painted (polychromed) all over. The headdress is gilded, as are parts of the costume and it has inset jeweled pieces of different colored glass all over the costume and headdress.
The boy sits on a wooden plinth.
The Boy or adolescent Emperor is in a seated position with one leg raised and one crossed. His headdress is highly ornate and the quality of his costume signifies his significance or status. We believe that this may be a depiction of the Boy Emperor …. Ananda Mahidol known as Rama VIII, who became Emperor at the age of 9 in 1935.
Acquired by a New York Private Collector in the mid 20th Century on a visit to Thailand.
Ananda Mahidol (Thai: พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรเมนทรมหาอานันทมหิดล; RTGS: Ananthamahidon; 20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946), posthumous reigning title Phra Athamaramathibodin, was the eighth monarch of Siam from the Chakri dynasty as Rama VIII. At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in December 1945, but six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot dead in his bed. Although at first thought to have been an accident, his death was ruled a murder by medical examiners, and three royal pages were later executed following very irregular trials. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of much controversy.
As the new king was still a child and was still studying in Switzerland, the National Assembly appointed Colonel Prince Anuwatjaturong, Lieutenant Commander Prince Aditya Dibabha, and Chao Phraya Yommaraj (Pun Sukhum) as his regents.
In 1938, at age thirteen, Ananda Mahidol visited Siam for the first time as its monarch. The king was accompanied during his visit by his mother and his younger brother, Bhumibol Adulyadej. Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram was prime minister at the time and during most of Ananda Mahidol’s brief reign (Pibulsonggram is remembered for being a military dictator and for changing the name of the country from Siam to Thailand in 1939).
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda_Mahidol
Early 20C Thai Seated Boy Emperor Polychrome Statue
Provenance: Acquired by a New York Collector and Art Dealer whilst on a visit to Thailand in the Mid-20th Century.
Condition: Very good original condition. A few missing pieces of glass but nothing significant to devalue the piece.
Dimensions: 22″ Tall, 10″ Wide and 11″ Deep.
SALE PRICE NOW: $2,800
