Originally, the Gold Buddha was covered with stucco and coloured glass to conceal its true value to conceal its value from Burmese invaders, who were known to melt down statues to extract gold.
It was moved from Sukhothai to Bangkok’s Phraya Kra Temple in the mid-1800s, and then in 1955 it was to be moved to a different temple. While moving the rope that was being used to pull the statue broke and the Buddha fell to the ground, brakeing the stucco covering and exposing the gold casting.
The body of the statue is 40% pure, the volume from the chin to the forehead is 80% pure, and the hair and the topknot, weighing 45 kg, are 99% pure gold.
The statue is made in nine parts, and a key was located in the stucco covering for use in assembling.
The statue weighs 5.5 tons.
