Standing alongside Wat Mahathat Yuwaratrangsarit and Sanam Luang, the historical Thaworawatthu Building was ordered to be built during the reign of King Rama V to serve as a supplementary edifice for HRH Prince Maha Vajirunhis' royal cremation ritual.
The construction, completed in the reign of King Rama VI, later transformed into the Hor Phra Samut Samrap Phra Nakhon (Library for the Capital City) before being developed into the National Library, allowing the public to access its services.
As part of the "King Chulalongkorn The Great (Rama V) Memorial" exhibition, it is now opening its chambers to showcase a rare collection of 47 classic gilded black lacquered cabinets to highlight Thailand's first-class craftsmanship and local wisdom.
The Thaworawatthu Building is receiving attention from art lovers with the ‘Gilded Black Lacquer Cabinet’ exhibition. (Photos: Chayaphol Parachart)
Aiming to conserve Thai art and promote its values to young artisans, King Chulalongkorn collected the cabinets from various places to use as bookcases in the Hor Phra Samut Vajirayana Samrap Phra Nakhon (Vajirayana Library for the Capital City), all of which were crafted in the Ayutthaya, Thon Buri and Rattanakosin periods.
Over the last century, the collection has grown from 130 to more than 390, with the majority currently kept at the National Library of Thailand on Samsen Road. This exhibition is arranged in six themes to display the cabinets, the majority of which are from the series "Gold-Motif Cabinets Books By The Office Of National Library".
Visitors start their tour in the first zone by learning how to create useful and durable cabinets in various designs to store books, manuscripts and other precious items. Apart from gilded lacquer, some cabinets are carved to resemble flowers, have coloured mirrors or are painted with powder colours.
The cabinets are named after the form of their legs, base and other components. The pig-legged cabinets, for example, have four straight rectangular legs while the lion-feet cabinets have legs sculpted with a lion's paw stepping on a glass ball. Meanwhile, the bent-legged cabinets have straight legs that bend inward beneath the cabinet and the lion-based cabinets boast a flat top with a lotus motif facing up.
The cabinets are named after the form of their legs and base.
From left: A lion-legged manuscript cabinet decorated with stained glass; A Rattanakosinstyle cabinet represents three important temples — Wat Phra Buddhabat, Wat Phra Thaendongrang and Wat Phra Batchai. (Photo: Pattarawadee Saengmanee)
Behind the door, you'll find a pig-legged manuscript cabinet depicting some scenes from the Phahalakavi Jataka; a lion-legged manuscript cabinet adorned with beautiful stained glass; and a bent-legged manuscript cabinet illustrating scenes from the Mahosatha Jataka, with heads of garuda and naga holding plants in their mouth as well as other animals and scrolling vine.
"Back in the Ayutthaya period, artists from Wat Cheng Wai School made the lion-legged cabinets and drew inspiration from Himmapan creatures to create elaborate and lively motifs," said curator Yutthanawarakorn Saengaram.
"The cabinets with pig legs and movement-focused illustrations were prominent in the Thon Buri kingdom while cabinets with lion and bent legs became popular in Rattanakosin-style art. Some of them also come with drawers."
The domed chamber is reserved for four towering cabinets with a narrative of Buddha's footprints. They are Rattanakosin-style masterpieces that recount the story of the first to third grand Buddhist councils that gathered to revise the Buddhist canon. According to Mahavamsa, the Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka, visitors can also observe some scenes of monk Buddhagosa visiting Sri Lanka to preach Buddhist principles.
"Beginning on the left side, these four cabinets illustrate the way of life and customs of pilgrims who travelled to Saraburi and Sri Lanka to worship the Buddha's footprints, according to a record written by monks, who journeyed to Sri Lanka during the reign of King Rama II," Yutthanawarakorn said.
A cabinet depicts the Buddha meditating to achieve enlightenment and the Goddess of the Earth squeezing water from her hair bun to drown demons.
"During the reign of King Rama III, the landscapes, farms and religious practices that the Buddhist councils discovered throughout their pilgrimage are depicted in the drawings, making them realistic artwork."
The third room looks like a mini theatre, with a row of lacquered black cabinets representing action scenes and the Himmapan woodland environment from the Ramakien epic.
While Phra Ram is battling Tossakan, visitors can see a thrilling duel between Hanuman and Maiyarap. Indrajit also uses an arrow to kill Hanuman during the war, and Hanuman breaks the elephant Aiyara's neck. You can also observe how Hanuman yawns the stars and the moon out.
Other highlights are the Ayutthaya-style pig-legged manuscript cabinets featuring a group of celestial dancers and mythical Himmapan animals such as lions and khotchasi (a combination of an elephant and a lion) as well as a garuda and a naga holding vines in their mouths.
The fourth room is devoted to manuscript cabinets that take inspiration from Tavaraban (the gatekeeper). According to the Buddhist scriptures, demons would flee if they saw the Indra replica from afar, thus pilgrims have created statues of god guards to defend holy religious places from dangers.
A Paris clock illustrates the goddess Mekhala holding a magical gem to lure the demon Ramasura.
"Making a manuscript cabinet is similar to building a chedi, which houses the Buddha's relics. To protect dhamma books, artists draw Tavaraban on cabinets. Their patterns are similar to those found on the temple's doors and windows," Yutthanawarakorn added.
They are unique artworks from the Ayutthaya era, with popular motifs including deities holding a sword in one hand and flowers in the other, standing on a lion-like platform and riding huge Himmapan creatures to symbolise might.
On view are Ayutthaya-style manuscript cabinets with drawers depicting two deities standing on the base being carried by a pair of demons as well as two Chinese deities riding mythical creatures.
The fifth room is designed to resemble a book and portrays scenes from Jataka stories. The Jataka chronicles were brought to the Ayutthaya kingdom and inspired the creation of popular Thai literary works such as Phra Suthon-Manorah (The Suthon Jataka), Sangthong (The Suwan Sangkha Jataka), Samutkhot Kham Chan (The Samutkhot Jataka) and Suea Kho Kham Chan (The Phahonkhavi Jataka).
The Rattanakosin-style manuscript cabinets depict Samutkhot capturing an elephant and Phra Mahachanok stranded in the sea. Some scenes from Pathomsomphot and Pannasa Jataka are also on view.
In the last zone, visitors can learn about Gautama Buddha. The cabinets illustrate episodes from his life, including his birth beneath a sal tree, his victory over evil before gaining enlightenment under a bodhi tree, his first speech in Isipatana, and his death and nirvana in Kushinagar.
At right is a collection of commemorative coins from King Rama V’s two visits to Europe between 1897 and 1907.
Other iconic scenes are the Buddha riding his horse Kanthaka before entering monkhood and the Buddha shaving his head with a dagger on the bank of the Anoma Nathi River. A Rattanakosin-style cabinet depicting some scenes from the Buddha's 10 previous lives is also on display.
Those with time can continue their trip with the "Commemorative Coins And Medals In The Reign Of King Chulalongkorn The Great" exhibition after an enjoyable hour of Thai art.
To mark several key events in the Kingdom, King Chulalongkorn developed a special edition of commemorative coins, as well as royal medals to honour individuals who had selflessly acted in courage, offered civic duties and performed services for the monarch.
The highlights include commemorative coins which were minted in 1883 when King Rama V had reigned as long as King Rama II; the commemorative coin for the Rattanakosin Centennial Celebration; and the commemorative coins for King Rama V's two visits to Europe between 1897 and 1907.
"The Gilded Black Lacquer Cabinet" and "The Commemorative Coins And Medals In The Reign Of King Chulalongkorn The Great" exhibitions are open from 9am to 4pm, Wednesday to Sunday.
“The Gilded Black Lacquer Cabinet” and “The Commemorative Coins And Medals In The Reign Of King Chulalongkorn The Great” exhibitions are open from 9am to 4pm, Wednesday to Sunday.
