Research & Article

In Singapore, Jakarta (Indonesia) and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) stand bronze elephant statues gifted by Thai kings in 1872 and 1934 respectively. The monuments were designed to commemorate the kings’ visits to these cities and visualise royal power. The article contextualises these statues in diplomatic practice and contemporary politics, in their cultural setting and symbolism, as well as in the history of secular bronze sculpture in Thailand. The statue in Ho Chi Minh City is identified as the first major bronze statue to be cast at the foundry of the Fine Arts Department in Bangkok in 1932.