Largest solid gold sculpture

The Golden Buddha, officially titled Phra Phuttha Maha Suwan Patimakon, located in the temple of Wat Traimit in Bangkok, Thailand, is the world's largest solid gold sculpture. The origin of the huge Buddha statue is not known, but its style suggests it was cast during the Sukhothai era, the kingdom that existed from 1238 until 1438 in Northern Thailand. At some point in its history, the Golden Buddha image was covered with a plaster coating, most likely to disguise it and prevent it from being stolen by invading Burmese. It wasn't until 25 May 1955, when the plastered statue was moved and accidentally dropped, that plaster was chipped off. The discovery of gold underneath the plaster revealed that the 3-metre-tall (9.8-ft) statue was comprised of 5.5 metric tonnes of solid gold.