Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), Smarthistory

Wat Phra Kaew, Temple of the Emerald Buddha, by Melody Rod-ari, published by Smarthistory in 2021, is a scholarly reference article by an art historian specializing in Southeast Asian Buddhist art, covering the temple's construction under Rama I in 1782 as the royal chapel housing Thailand's most sacred image and its role in the ritual legitimation of the Chakri dynasty. Smarthistory is a nonprofit art history publisher whose content is written by named academic specialists and used widely in university teaching, a standard closer to a textbook chapter than a general reference site. Its strength is Rod-ari's specific expertise in the art historical and royal ceremonial context surrounding the temple and image. Its limit is the article's necessarily brief survey format, suited to an overview of the temple's construction and royal significance but not to the deeper contested history of the Emerald Buddha image's own earlier legendary journey before it reached Bangkok, which needs a source addressing that separate question directly.