My visit to the Bank of Thailand Coin & Textile Museum required a 15 minute trip north on the Chotana highway. I'm glad I took the plunge riding there on my newly rented motorbike. Inside are brightly lit displays in a pale hard wood interior and matching glass cases. Useful labels in Thai and in English in most places appear alongside well-placed arrangements of coins in piles like small treasure troves. Curator Khun Daeng introduced me to the history of the museum that Queen Sirikit opened in 2000. Celebrating the ten year anniversary, the museum presently showcases the best of its numismatic and textile collections. I'm sorry to say that I couldn't take any pictures inside this gorgeous little museum. The Director kindly introduced himself and invited me to future programs.
Text panels clearly explain the relationship between currency, textiles, and clothing. Fabric was exchanged often in ancient barter systems, and was used through the early stages of the transition to real currency. With the introduction of the paper bill came new purses, wallets, pockets and new fashion trends to meet the needs of carrying a new form of currency. In the galleries, a few bright white mannequins artistically sculpted out of what looks like papier mache look great adorned with shimmering fabric. The Thai textiles are well-chosen to represent a good variety of forms, techniques and both secular and religious pieces. Clear textual information explains their significance in a straightforward manner.
A rich variety of other Southeast Asian textiles is represented from the twentieth century and earlier, and I'll only name a few here: From Cambodia, fine silk ikat skirts of deep purple and warm gold colors laden with figural content. From Thailand, long rectangular blue and white religious banners called tungs, dominated by a geometric framework and woven for merit-making. From Burma, skirt cloths with the distinguishable swirling wavy pattern called luntaya achieng, native green and orange color combinations or pink and gold as British colonists preferred the latter-masterfully achieved by the hands of several weavers in a seven layer weave structure. From India, patola sari inspired brocades historically popular in Southeast Asian courts. Labels explain the motifs and pieces of costumes. Queen Sirikit's influence on fashion is outlined too; specifically, HRH lead a project to establish traditionally-inspired Thai costumes for special occasions. I'm looking for images now to illustrate the pieces of the museum, which will be a nice seguey into describing the main elements of native Thai costume within the early twentieth century. These days, it appears the average Thai incorporates one or two pieces of traditional pieces into their daily wear if at all, while others enjoy dressing entirely in Thai clothing. More to come on my visit!
My visit to the Bank of Thailand Coin & Textile Museum required a 15 minute trip north on the Chotana highway. I'm glad I took the plunge riding there on my newly rented motorbike. Inside are brightly lit displays in a pale hard wood interior and matching glass cases. Useful labels in Thai and in English in most places appear alongside well-placed arrangements of coins in piles like small treasure troves. Curator Khun Daeng introduced me to the history of the museum that Queen Sirikit opened in 2000. Celebrating the ten year anniversary, the museum presently showcases the best of its numismatic and textile collections. I'm sorry to say that I couldn't take any pictures inside this gorgeous little museum. The Director kindly introduced himself and invited me to future programs. 
Text panels clearly explain the relationship between currency, textiles, and clothing. Fabric was exchanged often in ancient barter systems, and was used through the early stages of the transition to real currency. With the introduction of the paper bill came new purses, wallets, pockets and new fashion trends to meet the needs of carrying a new form of currency. In the galleries, a few bright white mannequins artistically sculpted out of what looks like papier mache look great adorned with shimmering fabric. The Thai textiles are well-chosen to represent a good variety of forms, techniques and both secular and religious pieces. Clear textual information explains their significance in a straightforward manner. 
A rich variety of other Southeast Asian textiles is represented from the twentieth century and earlier, and I'll only name a few here: From Cambodia, fine silk ikat skirts of deep purple and warm gold colors laden with figural content. From Thailand, long rectangular blue and white religious banners called tungs, dominated by a geometric framework and woven for merit-making. From Burma, skirt cloths with the distinguishable swirling wavy pattern called luntaya achieng, native green and orange color combinations or pink and gold as British colonists preferred the latter-masterfully achieved by the hands of several weavers in a seven layer weave structure. From India, patola sari inspired brocades historically popular in Southeast Asian courts. Labels explain the motifs and pieces of costumes. Queen Sirikit's influence on fashion is outlined too; specifically, HRH lead a project to establish traditionally-inspired Thai costumes for special occasions. I'm looking for images now to illustrate the pieces of the museum, which will be a nice seguey into describing the main elements of native Thai costume within the early twentieth century. These days, it appears the average Thai incorporates one or two pieces of traditional pieces into their daily wear if at all, while others enjoy dressing entirely in Thai clothing. More to come on my visit! 
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