---
node: emerald_buddha
type: art
slug: emerald_buddha
title: "Emerald Buddha"
lead: "The Emerald Buddha is a small figure of the meditating Buddha, carved from a green stone generally identified as jadeite and dated by style to around the 15th century. Enshrined in Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok, it is the palladium of the Thai state."
published: 2026-07-11
updated: 2026-07-11
image_file: emerald_buddha.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Emerald_Buddha_adorned_with_three_seasons_regalia.jpg"
image_author: "Sodacan"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

## Overview

The Emerald Buddha is a statue of the meditating Buddha carved from a green stone generally identified as jadeite; the word emerald refers to its colour, not its material. Scholars date its style to around the 15th century, while tales tracing it to ancient India or Sri Lanka are regarded as legend.

## Description

The figure shows the Buddha seated in meditation and, despite its fame, is only about 66 cm tall. It is dressed in one of three gold costumes, for the hot, rainy and cool seasons, which the king himself changes in a ceremony held three times a year.

## History and legacy

Chronicles record that the statue came to light in 1434 in Chiang Rai, when lightning split a chedi and revealed the figure beneath a coating of stucco. It travelled via Lampang to Chiang Mai, was carried off to Laos in 1552 by King Setthathirath, and remained in Vientiane for over two centuries. In 1778 it was captured by the general who later reigned as Rama I, and in 1784 it was installed in the royal chapel Wat Phra Kaew, where it is venerated as the palladium of the Thai state.