Detail Of The Golden Chedi With The Supporting Giants Around The Base, , Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok, Thailand Royalty-Free Stock Photography

One of the golden chedi, showing the supporting giants around the base. Two golden Phra Suvarnachedi are situated to the east of the terrace, flanking the steps leading up to the Prasat Phra Thep Bidon. The two chedi were built by Rama I to commemorate his parents, the southern chedi for his father Thongdi and the northern for this mother Daoreung. The two chedi are almost identical. They each have a marble octagonal base 8.5 metres 28 ft wide and topped with a golden, square-based stupa with triple indented corners 16 metres 52 ft in height. The top spire is decorated in nine levels of layered lotus bud motifs. The structures are covered in copper sheets painted over with lacquer and gilded in gold leaf. The two chedi were moved when the terrace was expanded to accommodate the royal pantheon. Around the base of the chedi, Rama V had figures of monkeys and yaksha `giants` supporting the chedi. Each has four monkeys and sixteen giants around the sides. The colour and clothing of these figures identify them with a particular character in the Ramakien epic