Lanna bronze Buddha Lion type 1

If you’re into Southeast Asian art, the story behind the famous Phra Singh Nung (or "Lion Type 1") from the Lanna Kingdom is one of the coolest historical plot twists in art history!

Here is how our understanding of these iconic bronze statues completely shifted over the last century:

 The Early 20th C. Belief: "It’s Ancient!"

Back in the 1920s, Prince Damrong Rajanubhab (the father of Thai history) took one look at these statues—with their plump figures, lotus-bud finials, and short robes—and noticed they looked just like ancient Indian (Pāla) and early Burmese (Pagan) art.

 The Verdict: He dated them to the 11th–13th centuries, assuming they were the oldest "Early Chiang Saen" images around.

 The Mid-20th C. Plot Twist: "Wait, check the inscriptions!"

In the 1950s, scholar A.B. Griswold started doing something genius: reading the actual inscriptions carved onto the statue bases.

The Discovery: Not a single one dated before ~1470 CE!

The Verdict: These weren't 11th-century antiques. They were created during the Lanna Golden Age (15th–16th C.) under King Tilokaraj. The King had instructed his master sculptors to deliberately copy sacred ancient styles as a political and religious statement. It wasn't early art—it was a 15th-century vintage revival!

 The Modern View (Carol Stratton): "A Choice of Style, Not Time"

In the early 2000s, art historian Carol Stratton tied it all together. She showed that Lanna artists in the late 1400s weren't moving sequentially from one style to another.

 The Verdict: Different styles coexisted! A royal patron could choose the ancient Pāla look (*Phra Singh Nung*) or a sleek classical Sukhothai-influenced look depending on the vibe and spiritual purpose they wanted for their temple.

What people thought was an 800-year-old original style turned out to be a brilliant 500-year-old royal revival campaign!

Art history is wild.

Even temples were build since the late 13th c by the Thai in Lanna, no Buddha from that period were clearly identify with evidence. That's another mystery...

Written by Denis Lepage

AI was used only to correct the English and improve sentence structure. All other content is original.

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