Suan Pakkad Palace Museum

• Location:       352 Sri Ayutthaya Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400
• Telephone:    02 – 246 - 1775
• Hours:           Monday to Saturday, 9.00 am to 4.00 pm. Closed Sunday and National Holidays
• Admission:    100 Baht
  

Black lacquer and gold inlay in the Lacquer Pavilion, Suan Pakkad Museum Bangkok.

• The Suan Pakkad Palace was assembled over a period of time beginning in 1952 by Prince and Princess Chaumbhot of  Nakhon Sawan, a province in central Thailand. They decided to display to the public their vast personal collection of art and antiquities, including those that had been passed down to them though successive royal generations. This collection ranges from the pre-historic to the contemporary periods. To house the collection, seven historic Thai buildings were moved to the Palace grounds and reassembled. Some of these houses had belonged to the Prince’s great-great-grandfather, who was a Regent in the reign of Rama IV, [1851-1868]. These Thai houses have the traditional features of high pitched roofs and wide overhangs for quick drainage of tropical rains, teak paneled walls and highly detailed architecture They are all raised above the ground for ventilation purposes. 

• Contains several excellent stone sculptures of Khmer art. Among them is a rare torso of Uma [consort of Siva], dating from the 7th century, and a standing stone torso of Ardhanarisvara. There is also a large painting on cloth from the early Bangkok period showing Buddha descending from Tavatimsa Heaven.

• Displays some fine pieces of royal family items. Among them are a howdah [elephant seat], a pair of elephant tusks, book cabinets painted in gold on black lacquer and commemorative religious fans. In addition, there are pieces of traditional Thai artefacts of the Ratanakosin [Bangkok] period, such as lacquerware furniture and artefacts such as food containers inlaid with mother-of-pearl and silver, ivory boxes for wax and European glassware and perfume bottles. The Princess’s personal collection of beautiful rock specimens can also be seen.

• Has some interesting pieces of pentachromatic Bencharong porcelain, gold and silver nielloware pieces, a palanquin, a model Thai throne and a cabinet of musical instruments.

• Has a private chapel, containing a large collection of Buddha images from a variety of cultures. There is a walking gilt bronze Buddha in the attitude of dispelling fear in Sukhothai style [14th century], and a Buddha in the attitude of subduing Mara [Evil] of U-tong style. On the wall, there are beautiful paintings on cloth depicting Buddha. There is a wood panel of mother-of-pearl inlaid work of late Ayutthaya style [17th-18th century AD].

• Displays glassware, silverware and porcelain and a collection of Thai coins and foreign currencies and Sukhothai figurines.   

• Contains mostly ceramic wares dating from the Sung, Yuan, and Ming period of China. There is also remarkable collection of Sawankalok wares, Sukhothai style terracotta sculptures, and clay figurines.  
  

• Is the Khon Museum. Khon is the Thai traditional masked dance, which displays several art forms and the crafts in the context of the great Indian epic, "the Ramayana". In former times, this dance was performed for royalty only. Besides full-size Khon masks, there are puppets and clay figurines displayed.

• Chumbhot-Pantip Centre of Arts [2nd -3rd floors] is devoted to the prehistoric arts from the archaeological site of Ban Chiang in Udon Thani province, most of which can be dated back 5,600-1,800 years ago. The collection includes various pieces of painted pottery and cord-marked pottery, bronze objects such as bracelets, axes, arrowheads, iron and glass ornaments, plant seeds and human skeletons. The significance of these findings is to show that these prehistoric agricultural communities in South East Asia from the Neolithic culture to the Bronze and Iron ages were extremely advanced socially and technically.