Bangkok

When you enter the lobby of Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok, your eye is naturally drawn upward to the magnificent frescoed ceiling. There, in all its glory, is a collaboration forged by some of Thailand’s most celebrated painters, sculptors and craftsmen chosen to assist in the fresco. The mural is made up of 19 sections, each adorned with enormous and meticulously detailed hand-painted silk mandalas – geometrical patterns that represent the cosmos. It is a spectacle of Buddhist symbols, Sung dynasty floral patterns, traditional Thai mythological and astrological animals, highly stylized sunbursts and other elements of nature, both earthly and supernatural.

The theme of the grand staircase mural is “The Coronation of a King,” which depicts the ascent of the Chakri Dynasty to the throne of Thailand. The mural features four prominent recurring symbols: the elephant, which signifies war; the horse, which depicts commerce; the chariot, which heralds royalty; and the boat, which represents trade. The result is a celebration of life.

These magnificent murals were designed and executed by the late Arjarn Paiboon Suwannakudt, one of Thailand’s foremost painters in the temple mural tradition. Sadly, Suwannakudt was stricken with cancer that proved fatal and he was unable to continue work on the project. It just so happened that his daughter, Khun Phaptawan Suwannakudt, now a celebrated muralist in her own right, was starting to take up her father’s passion. Determined to see Khun Paiboon’s project to completion, she stepped in and acted as a mediator between him and the workshop.

By then, his illness made it too difficult for Khun Paiboon to communicate, but he was still able to transmit his spirit. Fuelled by her father's undying determination and belief in his daughter's abilities, Khun Phaptawan carried on the commission, and together with his students and other professional artists she completed the work.

Looking back, Khun Phaptawan has fond memories of tagging along on temple commissions with her father when he was a young girl. She recalls, "He made me read to him out loud -- heavy duty literature like Jataka tales, even art criticism, to make sure I was within hearing distance.”

Before long, Khun Phaptawan set the books aside in favour of paintbrushes, developing her own passion for mural making. "I was around nine,” she remembers, “when I stole my first brushstroke when father wasn't looking." What started as an innocent prank grew into a serious hobby, and now a lifelong passion to carry on her father’s legacy.

Now that legacy, along with Khun Phaptawan’s passion, is on display day and night on the ceiling of the lobby at the Four Seasons.