The Erawan Museum Bangkok

Erawan Museum is a museum in Samut Prakan Province, Thailand. It is well known for its giant three-headed elephant art display. The three storeys inside the elephant contain antiquities and priceless collections of ancient religious objects belonging to Khun Lek Viriyapant who is the museum owner.

Erawan Museum Bangkok covers 3 levels representing the underworld, human earth, and heaven. Just about every part of the museum displays rare eastern antiques, religious iconography, and psychedelic décor.

Tours start at Erawan Museum's Suvannabhumi Level, where you can see examples of Benjarong ceramics, Chinese porcelain, Chakri Dynasty tea sets, jade ornaments, and Vietnamese vases. Explanatory notes in Thai and English give background on these rare treasures. 

History of The Erawan Museum
Erawan Museum in Thailand is an important model of sculpture. The Erawan Museum is the door opening to the heritage of Thai culture. With a wide range of architectural symbols combined with fine arts and craftsmanship, structural layout and natural environment that integrate harmoniously, the Erawan Museum creates a kind of atmosphere that induces visitors to perceive and appreciate the continuity of history, cultures, religions, arts and customs of faith from past to present. It is located on an area of 12 acres by Thonburi Autumotive Assembly Plant Co., Ltd. The museum is built from the inspiration of Mr. Lek Viriyaphant, creator of the Ancient Siam and Sanctuary of Truth Pattaya City, Chonburi to provide a storage place for artifacts and heritage conservation areas and to continue to preserve traced artwork.

Structure of The Erawan Museum
The massive three headed elephant made of bronze weighs 250 tons, is 29 metres high, 39 metres long and stands on a 15-meter-high (49 ft) pedestal. The inside of the museum is modeled after the Hindu representation of the universe, which consists of the underworld (1st floor), earth (2nd floor) and Heaven (top floor). The lower two floors are located inside the pedestal while the top floor is located in the belly of the elephant. ฿400 entrance fee as of 2019.

Exhibit space
The first floor represents the underworld and contains a collection of Chinese vases from the Ming and Qing dynasties and a history of the museum's construction as photographs and wall placards.

The second floor representing the earth (or human world) houses more precious antiques and arts including ceramics and European pottery. The hall features a statue of Guanyin, the Chinese Goddess with a thousand arms.

The top floor represents the Travatimsa Heaven, which is located on top of Mount Meru in Buddhist cosmology. On display are relics of the Buddha and very old Buddha statues from several eras including Lopburi, Ayutthaya, Lanna and Rattanakosin. The walls are decorated with paintings depicting the cosmos.

Mysteries of the Underworld
The Human Earth section represents Mount Meru, the centre of the Buddhist universe. This towering, technicoloured hall is rich with iconography and artistic exuberance, ornamenting everything from walls to winding staircases.

You’ll see hand-beaten copperwork, Benjarong inlays, intricate stucco by Petchaburi craftsmen, tin-embossed tableaus, and mural paintings. There’s also a splendid stained-glass ceiling, which represents the roof of the world, the Zodiac and the Milky Way.

A statue of Bodhisattva Guan Yin stands in the middle of the museum’s Heaven Level, along with 4 supporting pillars depict religious scenes. The room displays several Buddha images, including 8 in different postures. Lurid abstract art depicting the solar system lines the concave walls.

At the top, in the belly of the beast, is Tavatimsa Heaven. According to Buddhist cosmology, it's said to be where sacred beings, including elephant deity Airavata, congregate. Here, a series of Buddha images – including a walking Buddha and 6 more in different postures – is oddly offset by lurid abstract art that lines the concave wall. True to the fusing of ideas, art-forms and religions which runs throughout, the solemn serenity of a temple meets the surrealism of a Dali painting, albeit a 3-dimensional one. 

Gardens at Erawan Museum in Bangkok
After exploring Erawan Museum Bangkok’s surrealistic displays, you can enjoy its lush tropical gardens. Wander along stone paths, cross diminutive streams, and feed schools of carp in the rock ponds. Mythological statues and rare plants are scattered throughout the gardens, giving you plenty of beautiful photo ops. 

The Erawan Museum Bangkok

• Address: 99 Bang Mueang Mai, Mueang Samut Prakan District, Samut Prakan 10270, Thailand
• Opened: 2003
• Hours: Daily from 9am to 7pm
• Phone: +66 2 371 3135
• Architect: Khun Suwannee Napasawangwong