The bronze torso of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara at Whale Pier (fig.) in Surat Thani is a replica from a statue that dates from the 8th century Srivijayan period and which was found in Chaiya (fig.), one of the oldest and historically most significant settlements in southern Thailand, located in what is today Surat Thani province, and that belonged to the Srivijaya Empire which dominated much of the Malay Archipelago from the 7th to the 13th century AD.