{"id":16220,"date":"2024-07-26T13:54:14","date_gmt":"2024-07-26T06:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesiamsociety.org\/?post_type=activity&p=16220"},"modified":"2024-10-18T09:17:18","modified_gmt":"2024-10-18T02:17:18","slug":"art-diplomacy-and-the-projection-of-power","status":"publish","type":"activity","link":"https:\/\/thesiamsociety.org\/th\/activity\/art-diplomacy-and-the-projection-of-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Art, Diplomacy and the Projection of Power: The Thai Elephant Statues in Singapore, Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_fullwidth_header _builder_version=”4.27.0″ background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” background_image=”https:\/\/thesiamsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-278-1.png” background_size=”contain” background_repeat=”repeat” min_height=”350px” max_height=”500px” global_colors_info=”{}” background__hover_enabled=”on|desktop”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ use_custom_gutter=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”|auto|28px|auto|false|false” custom_padding=”0px||15px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ module_class=”second-on-mobile” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding_tablet=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”off|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb url=”\/lectures\/” use_icon=”on” font_icon=”H||divi||400″ icon_placement=”left” image_icon_width=”24px” _builder_version=”4.16″ body_font=”|700|||||||” link_option_url=”\/lectures\/” icon_font_size=”24px” global_colors_info=”{}” body_text_color__hover_enabled=”on|hover” body_text_color__hover=”rgba(29,39,49,0.7)”]Back to Lectures[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_text admin_label=”Pre-header message” _builder_version=”4.16″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”||15px||false|false” custom_css_main_element=”text-align: left;” text_text_align=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoiY3VzdG9tX21ldGFfcHJlLWhlYWRlcl9tZXNzYWdlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJlbmFibGVfaHRtbCI6Im9uIn19@[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Lecture Topic Heading” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” header_text_color=”#8e794c” max_width_tablet=”90%” max_width_phone=”100%” max_width_last_edited=”off|desktop” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”||62px|||” custom_padding=”||30px||false|false” module_alignment_last_edited=”off|tablet” custom_css_main_element=”text-align: left;” border_width_bottom=”1px” border_color_bottom=”#dbd3d8″ text_text_align=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90aXRsZSIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IjxoMT4iLCJhZnRlciI6IjwvaDE+In19@[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.0″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” width=”100%” custom_margin=”||40px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

In Singapore, Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City stand bronze elephant statues gifted by Thai Kings. Erected in 1872 (Singapore and Jakarta), and 1936 (Ho Chi Minh City), these monuments were designed to commemorate the kings\u2019 visits to these cities and to visualise royal power. In the decades since, they have been localised and become part of the urban spaces they inhabit. The lecture will attempt to contextualise these statues in contemporary diplomatic practice and politics during the Fifth and Seventh Reigns. The wider cultural setting and symbolism of elephants in general, and the elephant statues in particular, will be explored, and they will be analysed in the context of diplomatic gift-giving in the 19th and 20th centuries. The lecture will then zoom in on the history of secular bronze sculpture in Thailand and position the statues at key stages of an artistic tradition that leads from the mid-1850s up to the present. A focus will be on the statue in Ho Chi Minh City, which is identified as the first major bronze cast at the foundry of the Fine Arts Department in Bangkok. The process of its creation, led by Prince Narisara Nuwattiwong and Corrado Feroci (Silpa Bhirasri) before and after the political upheavals of 1932, will be reconstructed from documents from the Thai National Archives.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_blurb title=”About the speaker” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

Dr. Stefan Hell<\/strong> is a historian and a visiting research fellow at Chulalongkorn University\u2019s Department of History. He holds an MA in History and Philosophy from T\u00fcbingen University (Germany) and a PhD in History from Leiden University (Netherlands). Stefan is the author of three books: The Manchurian Conflict: Japan, China, and the League of Nations, 1931-1933<\/em> (in German); Siam and the League of Nations: Modernisation, Sovereignty and Multilateral Diplomacy, 1920-1940<\/em>, and Siam and World War I: An International History <\/em>(in English and Thai versions). Aj. Stefan has also co-edited books, authored articles, and contributes to the Bangkok Post<\/em>. His current research projects focus on the history of Franco-Thai relations during the Holocaust and on the confluence of architecture, religion and politics in modern Vietnamese history.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ module_class=”first-on-mobile” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#4e4e4d” custom_padding=”40px|40px|40px|40px|true|true” custom_padding_tablet=”” custom_padding_phone=”|40px||40px|true|true” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_css_main_element=”margin-bottom: 50px;” border_width_top=”4px” border_color_top=”#8e794c” border_width_bottom=”2px” border_color_bottom=”#8e794c” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb title=”When” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 19:00<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb title=”Where” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoiY3VzdG9tX21ldGFfbGVjdHVyZV9sb2NhdGlvbiIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IiIsImFmdGVyIjoiIiwiZW5hYmxlX2h0bWwiOiJvbiJ9fQ==@[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb title=”Admission” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoiY3VzdG9tX21ldGFfYWRtaXNzaW9uIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJlbmFibGVfaHRtbCI6Im9uIn19@[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb title=”For more information, please contact” icon_placement=”left” module_class=”contact-on-dark” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” body_link_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” body_link_text_color__hover=”#81bbc3″]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoiY3VzdG9tX21ldGFfbGVjdHVyZV9lbnF1aXJ5X2NvbnRhY3QiLCJzZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJiZWZvcmUiOiIiLCJhZnRlciI6IiIsImVuYWJsZV9odG1sIjoib24ifX0=@[\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ background_color=”#eff1f3″ custom_margin=”||-27px||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ disabled_on=”off|off|off” admin_label=”More Upcoming Trips” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ custom_padding=”23px||31px||false|” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.1″ text_font=”||||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

More upcoming lectures<\/h2>\n

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