Royal Seals
During the Ayutthaya Kingdom (1350–1767), the king had in his possession several seals (ตรา, tra) of various designs. These stamp seals were used in the authentication of official documents, especially on those sent out from the central administration to the provinces. They were usually made from carved blocks of ivory. In 1635 a law was passed, regulating the use of each seal for a specific purpose or on specific documents. For example one was used for the interior administration, one for foreign affairs, one for military affairs and one for dynastic affairs. The king would entrusted a seal to an individual minister, with a 'seal secretary', whose role it was to write and seal all documents on his behalf.
The importance of the seals were attested when another law provided a punishment for the forgery and altering of sealed documents. Simon de la Loubère remarked that the king's own authority was linked to that of his seal. In times of turmoil and dynastic conflict, exceptional importance was attached to the seals, as it was considered that the kingdom's power and authority laid with their custodian. These seals did not survive the sacking and destruction of the city by a Burmese army in 1767.
The use of royal seals continued in the first four reigns of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (founded in 1782). The Chakri kings would use a personal seal for private letters and four official seals for government business. The four great royal seals (พระราชลัญจกร, Phra Rajalancakorn) included: the Maha Ongkan (มหาโองการ), the Khrut Phah (ครุฑพ่าห์), the Hong Phiman (หงสพิมาน) and the Airaphot (ไอราพต) seals. The seals represented four gods: Shiva (known in Thailand as Phra Isuan), Vishnu (Phra Narayana), Brahma (Phra Phrom) and Indra (Phra Indra). The first three belong strictly to the Hindu Trimurti (or Trinity) and the last is a popular king of the gods in Buddhism. The four seals were used in different combinations, depending on the purpose of the document.
Read more about this topic: Emblem Of Thailand
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