The Emerald Buddha is not emerald, and the walls around it are not just decoration but a complete telling of Thailand's national epic.
A green stone, not a gem
Despite its name, the small seated image is carved from a single piece of green jadeite or a related green stone, not emerald, an identification made by later material examination rather than by the legendary accounts of its origin. Tradition holds it was discovered in 1434 in Chiang Rai when stucco covering an older statue cracked to reveal the green stone image beneath, after which it passed through Lampang, Chiang Mai, Luang Prabang and Vientiane before a Siamese military campaign brought it to Thonburi and finally to Bangkok's Wat Phra Kaew, where it has remained since.
The cloister murals
The temple's surrounding gallery is covered in an extensive mural cycle depicting the Ramakien, the Thai national version of the Ramayana epic, painted and repainted across successive reigns since the temple's founding under Rama I. The murals run in continuous sequence around the cloister, meant to be read by walking its length rather than viewed from any single vantage point.
A royal chapel, not a monastery
Unlike most Buddhist temples in Thailand, Wat Phra Kaew has no resident monks, since it functions specifically as a royal chapel attached to the Grand Palace rather than as an ordinary monastic institution.