Celebrate the King's birthday through online art exhibition

Celebrate the King's birthday through online art exhibition

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Celebrate the King's birthday through online art exhibition
Some of the paintings to mark the King's birthday. photos courtesy of Office of Traditional Arts

The Office of Traditional Arts at the Fine Arts Department is holding an online exhibition to mark the 69th birthday of HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua, via its Facebook page, until Aug 20.

Held on a virtual platform for the first time due to the pandemic, the exhibition features valuable art pieces that portray His Majesty the King, Her Majesty the Queen and their royal family.

The works show artistic craftsmanship in various fields including drawing, painting, lai rot nam (or gilded black lacquer), wood carving and mother-of-pearl inlay.

Among the highlights are delicate paintings that portray HM's coronation ceremony, a painting on a talipot fan as well as works of applied arts including ceramic paintings and sculptures that portray King Rama IX and Somdet Ya.

They were created by the artisans of the Office of Traditional Arts as a tribute to the royal institution, which plays a major role in preserving Thai arts.

The virtual exhibition is divided into many parts, including a royal arch where viewers are invited to sign their names and send a message of good wishes to the King.

Besides a collection of artworks to honour the royal institute, the exhibition also gathers outstanding pieces in different fields by other craftspeople whose skills in fine arts are presented through intricate works such as golden nielloware, lai rot nam lacquerware, a khon mask with exquisite headdress and a manuscript cabinet of lacquer and gold leaf.

The Office of Traditional Arts has a duty to promote and provide knowledge on Thai arts as well as preserve arts and culture for students and interested members of the public. It's a source of craft knowledge and also an information centre of national fine arts that takes care of the designs of Thai arts.

A painting marking the King's birthday. Office of Traditional Arts

Visit facebook.com/officeoftraditionalarts.

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