In Thailand, Thais believe lighting candles (as in the West the lighting of votive candles) is a way of demonstrating respect to the loved one who has passed. The hand-painted design is intricately decorative and is a luxury item, not only an addition to the urn but as an accessory, which looks attractive on its own.
This royal barge shaped candle holder has 5 slots for small candles. The Suphanahong barge is used in processions by the King on his royal barge. This barge is most impressive and ornately decorated with magnificently carved prows. It was built in 1911 to resemble the mythical swan. The 46-meter craft was hewn from a single tree and is covered with intricate gilt carvings and colorful pieces of glass, forming an eye-catching mosaic. It is not an easy task to get this vessel moving to require 54 oarsmen who paddle in time to the rhythmic beat of a drummer following a melodic chant called a “BotHehRua”. Today the royal barge is limited to use in state ceremonies and celebrations.
PiKul design is flower notable for its fragrance and visual aesthetic. The pattern originated in the Reign of King Rama II (1809-1824). PiKul is a big tree often grown in temples. It has high strong stalks and its shape resembles and smells like Jasmine.
The painted design on the pieces inspires and creates a unique pattern, which has been reduced in size to that of the patterns painted on the walls and post of temples, including other important ancient places called “PraJamYam” (pattern fixed for auspices), which is the name of a pattern in the figure of a flower with 4 sparkle petals placed section by section and separated by other patterns. This is believed to be auspicious and guards against demons and to bring prosperity for those important places, i.e. north, south, east, and west. It creates peace and harmony in life.
The original PiKul flower pattern is based on the repetitive trellis technique from wooden vines and was developed to include various designs and colors as the PiKul KarnTor and PiKul SakKoRad design are replaced with tropical leaves motifs, even the PiKul KaJung and PiKul KarnLeam design are replaced with geometric forms of rectangle or rhombus shapes, but the PiKul Golden design minimizes the original size of the PiKul flower which is tiny for making the delicately unique design.