Cabinet of Thai Identity: Museum Space in Cultural and Political Context

Abstract

The Nitasrattanakosin Exhibition Hall (Rattanakosin Exhibition), the Queen Sirikhit Museum of Textiles, and Sin Phaen Din (Art of the Kingdom) at the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall are all recent exhibitions which display the history of Bangkok, the invention of the formal Thai national costume and the traditional arts and crafts of Thailand, respectively. This study aims to analyse the visualisation of Thai national identity or ‘Thainess’ through the collective memories of Thai history, sartorial reform and the works of art shown in the aforementioned exhibitions. Moreover, the locations these museums or exhibitions occupy, including their buildings, are very significant both historically and politically. They were initially constructed by the commissions of King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V), the embodiment of the notion of ‘Populist King’ in Thailand’s official history and the absolutist monarch. Except for the building of the Nitasrattanakosin, however, Ratchadamnoen Avenue where its building locates also built by King Chulalongkorn. This space was designed to distribute the power of monarchy under the absolute monarchy regime until the 1932 Revolution when the democracy was established and replaced the old regime. In more recent times, this space, especially the Ratchadamnoen Avenue, including the Royal Plaza have been used frequently in political rallies. Thus this paper aims to articulate the relationship between concrete geographical sites and historical circumstances through the exhibitions.