The Golden Buddha, officially titled Phra Phuttha Maha Suwana Patimakon , is a gold Maravijaya Attitude seated Buddharupa Statue, with a weight of 5.5 tonnes (5,500 kgs). It is located in the temple of Wat Traimit , Bangkok , Thailand . At one point in its history the statue was covered with a layer of stucco and coloured glass to conceal its true value, and it remained in this condition for almost 200 years, ending up as what was then a pagoda of minor significance. During relocation of the statue in 1955, the plaster was chipped off and the gold revealed.
The origins of this statue are uncertain. It is made in the Sukhothai Dynasty style of the 13th-14th centuries, though it could have been made after that time. The head of the statue is egg-shaped, which indicates its origin in the Sukothai period. Given that Sukothai art had Indian influences and metal figures of the Buddha made in India used to be taken to various countries for installation, this suggests the Golden Buddha statue may have been cast in parts in India.
Later, the statue was probably moved from Sukhothai to Ayutthaya, about 1403.
Some scholars believe the statue is mentioned in the somewhat controversial Ramkhamhaeng stele. In lines 23-27 of the first stone slab of the stele, “a gold Buddha image” is mentioned as being located “in the middle of Sukhothai City,” interpreted as being a reference to the Wat Traimit Golden Buddha.
Source: Wikipedia.