Royal sandalwood urn design unveiled for Queen Sirikit’s royal cremation

The urn is topped with a Great Crown-shaped finial and sits on a base with twelve indented corners (known in Thai as yo mum mai sip song). It is decorated with classic Thai patterns, including phum khao bin motifs and flowing kan yaeng hong designs.

The urn itself has eight sides. Its crown-shaped lid is carved from sandalwood with fine openwork. Some parts are finished with gold leaf and small sections of beetlewing inlay to add colour and shine without overpowering the wood.

At the very top is a phum khao bin ornament. Around the upper tier are floral decorations known as dok mai wai and dok mai thit. The lotus band around the lid is wrapped with gold garlands and finished with eight hanging uba fueang tassels.

The base uses lotus-petal shapes and bai thet leaf patterns. Small celestial figures are carved from sandalwood and highlighted with gold leaf on alternating petals to create a balanced, rhythmic look.

The urn is placed on a matching sandalwood casket with the same twelve-cornered, indented profile, symbolising a royal golden dais. Floral ornaments run around the lotus band, and large umbrella-style bouquets stand on both sides, made from sandalwood and finished with beetlewing inlay and gold leaf. The front is also decorated with dok mai wai and dok mai thit, with uba fueang tassels hanging around the edges.

The casket’s side panels feature openwork carvings in kan yaeng patterns, with additional carved details around the base, ending with a lower lotus band.

In traditional symbolism, the celestial figures are understood to represent Brahma deities. When combined with the swan-themed motifs on the casket, the whole set is meant to suggest a sacred journey towards the heavenly realm.

The design was created by Somchai Suphalakampaiporn, a senior craftsman at the Office of Traditional Arts, Fine Arts Department.