Khmer Art In Thailand
Introduction To Khmer Art & Architecture
Khmer and Lop Buri art refers to the art of the Khmer people. In the 6th C the Khmer settled North Eastern Thailand [ I 'san ] and the area which today is Cambodia. Lop Buri, a town in the central Chao Phraya Valley was the major city for Khmer administration in Thailand. The Khmer Empire ruled Thailand from 7th C until the mid 13th C. Khmer culture was dominant between the 11th – 13th C, particularly in the East [ I 'san ], such as at Phimai and Phnom Rung.
In the prior period the Khmer Empire was divided between the Upper Chenla on the Mun River Basin and Lower Chenla. The art of Upper Chenla is referred to as Kompong style [ 8th – 9th C ]. The art of the later period is referred to as the Bayon Style. Following the death of Jayavarman the 7th, in 1219 Khmer power faded and the Kingdom of Sukhothai emerged as the dominant political force.
Khmer art in Thailand is varied. There was the pre-Angkorian period of 7th – 10th C, when Khmer Temples and monuments were constructed in I 'san, the Angkor period until 13th C when the Khmer ruled parts of Thailand and the prior cultural domination of the Mon Dvaravati waned in the 11th C and later when Thai artists copied or were aesthetically influenced to create a merged style we call Lop Buri.