BANGKOK NATIONAL MUSEUM

Description

Essentials about the Bangkok National Museum in brief

Anyone interested in Thai art and culture should definitely have seen the Bangkok National Museum. The museum houses the largest collection of art objects in all of Thailand and delights its visitors with a vial number of fascinating sculptures, filigree art objects and wonderful murals. Due to its location north of the Grand Palace, a visit to the palace can be easily combined with a visit to the museum.

The history of the Bangkok National Museum

The precursor museums of today’s National Museum were established in the mid-19th century on the grounds of the Grand Palace and housed royal collections of art objects and antiquities. After the death of the last viceroy, his palace grounds were unused from 1885 and were eventually chosen as the new museum site.

The departments of the Bangkok National Museum

In the Buddhai Sawan Chapel stands the Phra Phuttha Sihing, the most revered Buddha statue in Thailand after the Emerald Buddha. Besides the Buddha, the ancient murals in the chapel, which are among the oldest in Bangkok, are also remarkable.

The Sivamokkha Phiman Hall exhibits numerous Bronze Age artifacts from the Ban Chiang area. Particularly worth seeing is a small peacock figure, about eight centimeters high, which can almost be considered modern due to its simple design.

In the south wing of the museum, works of art from the Dvaravati period are on display, including several law wheels (so-called Dharmachakra) with diameters of up to 1.80 meters. Also impressive is the 3.80 meter high seated Buddha statue of Phra Phuttha Narachet.

In the north wing of the museum there are numerous Buddha statues from the Sukhothai period. Here is also the original of the stele of King Ramkhamhaeng, on which the Thai script is shown for the first time. There are also some statues of Hindu deities (e.g. the 1.50 meter high Uma or the 2.70 meter high Vishnu). Also on display in the north wing are some sculptures from the Ayutthaya period, including a 1.5-meter-tall Buddha head.

In addition, the National Museum exhibits countless examples of traditional Thai handicrafts from a wide variety of eras: King’s utensils inlaid with mother-of-pearl or decorated with niello, bookcases from monasteries and the royal household decorated with black-gold lacquer painting, silver and gold work, and ivory carvings.

A separate building is dedicated to the grandiose royal funeral carriages, made of teak, decorated with gilded wood carvings, up to 15 meters high and weighing up to 40 tons. The oldest model dates from 1795. Four groups of a total of 216 soldiers pull these carriages in procession from the temple, where the deceased had been laid out, to the cremation site.