Phra Kamphaeng Sum Kor: Benjapakee Amulet of Kamphaeng Phet

Phra Kamphaeng Sum Kor (พระกำแพงซุ้มกอ), often romanised as Phra Som Kor, is an ancient clay amulet from Kamphaeng Phet province in Thailand, created during the Sukhothai era and revered as one of the five supreme Benjapakee amulets. It shows the Buddha seated in meditation beneath an arch curved like the Thai letter ko kai (ก) — the feature that gives the amulet its name, “the amulet of the Ko arch”. Around it has grown one of the most famous sayings in the Thai amulet world: “mi ku laew mai jon” — “with me, you will never be poor.” This article traces the amulet’s Sukhothai origins, the remarkable 1849 rediscovery involving Somdej Toh, the kru sites of the Thung Setthi plain, the recognised pims, and the beliefs that make it the most coveted amulet of Kamphaeng Phet.

Origins in the Golden Age of Sukhothai

The historical anchor of the Kamphaeng Phet amulet family is the Nakhon Chum stone inscription (Inscription No. 3), which records that King Maha Thammaracha I (Phaya Lithai) of Sukhothai came to Nakhon Chum — the old town on the west bank of the Ping River opposite modern Kamphaeng Phet — in BE 1900 (CE 1357) to enshrine relics of the Buddha brought from Sri Lanka and to plant a sacred Bodhi tree at what became Wat Phra Borommathat. Thai scholarship and collector tradition alike attribute the creation of Phra Sum Kor to this milieu: votive tablets pressed in vast numbers and sealed in chedis as an act of merit, intended to preserve Buddhism for five thousand years. On this dating the amulets are roughly 670 to 700 years old, with some Thai sources extending the estimate to 800 years.

Stylistically, the Sum Kor is early Sukhothai art with a visible Sri Lankan (Lankan) influence, reflecting the Sinhalese Buddhism that Lithai championed. The Buddha sits in the samadhi (meditation) posture on a lotus base of the “elephant-nail” type, framed in the finest pims by a halo of kanok flame ornament. Kamphaeng Phet — known in the Sukhothai period as Chakangrao, a key frontier city of the kingdom — has yielded so many important votive tablets that collectors speak of an entire “Kamphaeng family” of amulets, with the Sum Kor at its head.

The 1849 Discovery and the Somdej Toh Connection

The modern story of the Sum Kor begins in BE 2392 (CE 1849), when Somdej Phra Buddhachan (Toh) Phromarangsi of Wat Rakhang travelled to Kamphaeng Phet to visit relatives. At Wat Sadet he read an old Thai inscription that pointed to ancient chedis across the river at Nakhon Chum. At his urging, the governor surveyed the site and found three badly ruined chedis, which were later combined into a single stupa — finished, after the governor’s death, by a Burmese timber merchant known as Phraya Taka, which is why the present chedi of Wat Phra Borommathat wears a Burmese-style form.

Inside the ruined chedis lay a vast deposit of votive tablets, including the Sum Kor, together with inscribed silver and gold leaves (lan ngoen and lan thong) recording how the amulets were made, how they should be invoked, and the powers attributed to them. Tradition holds that Somdej Toh carried a number of broken tablets and the old palm-leaf texts back to Wat Rakhang, and that knowledge gleaned from the Kamphaeng Phet deposits informed his creation of Phra Somdej, the king of Thai amulets. King Chulalongkorn’s own account of his BE 2449 (CE 1906) visit to Kamphaeng Phet records the golden-leaf legend of the Thung Setthi amulets, presented to him by an official named Nai Chid, and the king distributed local votive tablets to members of the royal family — sealing the amulets’ national fame.

Kru Sites: The Thung Setthi Plain and Beyond

The classic Sum Kor kru sites lie on the west bank of the Ping River around old Nakhon Chum, in a broad expanse of ruined monasteries known as Lan Thung Setthi — “the Millionaire’s Field”, a name that has only amplified the amulet’s wealth-bringing reputation. The most important sites are Wat Phra Borommathat, Wat Phikun, Wat Ruesi and the chedis scattered across the Thung Setthi plain, with further finds at Wat Nong Langka, the Na Ta Kham kru and the “Chedi Klang Thung” (chedi in the middle of the field). After the first great find of BE 2392, additional discoveries were recorded around BE 2490, 2501, and notably in BE 2505 and 2509 (CE 1962 and 1966) at Wat Phikun and neighbouring sites. Krus on the city side of the river, inside what is now the Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park — a UNESCO World Heritage area — have also yielded Sum Kor amulets among dozens of other pims.

Pims and Materials of Phra Sum Kor

The recognised pims

Collectors recognise a compact family of designs. Pim Yai mi kanok (large pim with kanok ornament) is the classic and most celebrated form, with flame-scroll ornament framing the arch. Pim Yai mai mi kanok (large pim without kanok) is the famously austere version, usually fired to black or deep brown and known as the Sum Kor Dam (black Sum Kor); its plainness shows the Sri Lankan influence most clearly and it is exceptionally rare. Pim Klang (medium) follows the large design at slightly smaller scale, while Pim Lek (small) includes the variant called Phat Bai Lan (palm-leaf fan). Finally, Pim Khanom Pia describes tablets left untrimmed, their rounded outline resembling the Chinese pastry of that name.

Paste and surface

Most Sum Kor are pressed from fine clay blended with sacred herbs (wan) and flower pollen, producing an unusually soft, smooth, almost waxy paste that polishes to a gentle sheen. Two famous surface traits guide authentication: red specks called wan dok makham (tamarind-flower herb, associated in Thai lore with the iron-bearing lek lai family) and patches of black ra dam in the recesses. Rarer materials include pure herb paste (nuea wan), herb paste faced with gold or silver, and silver-alloy chin ngoen.

“With Me, You Will Never Be Poor”

มีกูแล้วไม่จน — “With me, you will never be poor.” The promise recorded in the lore of the Thung Setthi deposits, and the phrase every Thai collector associates with Phra Sum Kor.

The Sum Kor’s buddhakhun is considered complete: loving-kindness and popularity (metta mahaniyom), protection from danger (klaew klaad), and above all fortune and prosperity. The wealth association is woven into the very landscape — amulets buried in a place called the Millionaire’s Field — and into the inscribed legend that whoever possesses one will prosper in every undertaking. This reputation, combined with genuine scarcity, places authentic kru pieces among the most expensive amulets in Thailand, with fine examples changing hands for sums in the millions of baht. For most devotees, reverently made later-era and temple-issued Sum Kor amulets in the classic form offer a practical alternative; you can explore Benjapakee-related pieces and other classics in our amulet articles and shop.

Collecting Notes

Because demand dwarfs supply, the Sum Kor is among the most copied amulets in existence. Specialists scrutinise the pim against known examples — the taper of the flame finial, the floating oval eyes, the kanok scroll beside the right arm, the depth of the armpit recess — together with the paste, the dryness and shrinkage of genuinely ancient clay, and the distribution of wan dok makham and ra dam. Certification by a major collectors’ association is effectively mandatory at the top of the market. Beginners are well advised to study museum examples in Kamphaeng Phet and to buy the seller as much as the amulet.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does “Sum Kor” mean?

“Sum” means arch or niche, and “Kor” refers to ko kai (ก), the first letter of the Thai alphabet. The halo-arch enclosing the seated Buddha curves like that letter, so people of old called the design “the amulet of the Ko arch” — Phra Sum Kor.

Who created Phra Kamphaeng Sum Kor and when?

Thai tradition and the Nakhon Chum inscription point to King Maha Thammaracha I (Lithai) of Sukhothai, who enshrined Sri Lankan relics at Nakhon Chum in BE 1900 (CE 1357). The amulets were pressed as votive deposits in that era, making them roughly 700 years old today.

What is Thung Setthi?

Lan Thung Setthi, “the Millionaire’s Field”, is a plain of ruined Sukhothai-era monasteries on the Ping River’s west bank at old Nakhon Chum, opposite Kamphaeng Phet town. Its krus — Wat Phra Borommathat, Wat Phikun, Wat Ruesi and others — yielded the Sum Kor and the whole famous Thung Setthi amulet family.

Why do people say the Sum Kor stops you being poor?

The saying “mi ku laew mai jon” derives from the legend recorded on inscribed leaves found with the amulets, promising success and prosperity to the possessor. The burial site’s name, the Millionaire’s Field, reinforced the belief, and generations of owners’ stories have kept the reputation alive.

How rare is an authentic Phra Sum Kor?

Genuine kru examples are very rare, especially the black Pim Yai without kanok. Surviving pieces are concentrated in old families and major collections, and top examples trade for millions of baht with association certification. The overwhelming majority of pieces offered casually online are modern reproductions.