Wat Phra Kaew and the Emerald Buddha

This mural (late 18th–19th cc.) shows the temple complex with gilded figures gathered in a palace courtyard around the chapel of the Emerald Buddha. It belongs to the long narrative cycle of the Ramakien (Thai version of the Ramayana) that runs along the cloister walls. By translating an Indian epic into Thai courtly architecture and costume, the painting links Buddhist kingship to a broader sacred cosmos.