page_title: History of Asian art
section_title: Laotian art
hierarchical_section_title: History of Asian art / Southeast Asian art / Laotian art
caption_attribution_description: English: Seated Buddha touching the earth, bronze, 17th century Lan Xang period, Laos
context_page_description: The history of Asian art includes a vast range of arts from various cultures, regions and religions across the continent of Asia. Developments of art in Asia historically parallel those in Western art, in general a few centuries earlier. East Asian art had significant influence on Western art, and vice versa.Near Eastern art and South Asian art also had a significant influence on Western art. Excluding prehistoric art, the art of Mesopotamia represents the oldest forms of art in Asia.
context_section_description: Laotian art includes ceramics, Lao Buddhist sculpture, and Lao music.
  Lao Buddhist sculptures were created in a large variety of material including gold, silver and most often bronze. Brick-and-mortar also was a medium used for colossal images, a famous of these is the image of Phya Vat (16th century) in Vientiane, although a renovation completely altered the appearance of the sculpture, and it no longer resembles a Lao Buddha. Wood is popular for small, votive Buddhist images that are often left in caves. Wood is also very common for large, life-size standing images of the Buddha. The most famous two sculptures carved in semi-precious stone are the Phra Keo (The Emerald Buddha) and the Phra Phuttha Butsavarat. The Phra Keo, which is probably of Xieng Sen (Chiang Saen) origin, is carved from a solid block of jade. It rested in Vientiane for two hundred years before the Siamese carried it away as booty in the late 18th century. Today it serves as the palladium of the Kingdom of Thailand, and resides at the Grand Palace in Bangkok. The Phra Phuttha Butsavarat, like the Phra Keo, is also enshrined in its own chapel at the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Before the Siamese seized it in the early 19th century, this crystal image was the palladium of the Lao kingdom of Champassack.
  Many beautiful Lao Buddhist sculptures are carved right into the Pak Ou caves. Near Pak Ou (mouth of the Ou river) the Tham Ting (lower cave) and the Tham Theung (upper cave) are near Luang Prabang, Laos. They are a magnificent group of caves that are only accessible by boat, about two hours upstream from the center of Luang Prabang, and have recently become more well known and frequented by tourists.The caves are noted for their impressive Buddhist and Lao style sculptures carved into the cave walls, and hundreds of discarded Buddhist figures laid out over the floors and wall shelves. They were put there as their owners did not wish to destroy them, so a difficult journey is made to the caves to place their unwanted statue there.
caption: Lan Xang bronze Buddha, 17th century Laos
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