While Bunditpatanasilpa Institute's khon troupe is touring the country as part of a new show featuring an episode of The Mighty King Rama Of Solar Dynasty, the Queen's Gallery is celebrating world-renowned Thai craftsmanship and traditional performing arts with the "Khon Mask" exhibition, which is on view until this Sunday.
The 'Khon Mask' exhibition combines 93 masterpieces from the King Rama V era to present. Photos: Varuth Hirunyatheb
In 2018, Unesco added khon masked dance to its list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. This exhibition is the result of a collective effort by the Thai Khadi Research Institute, Thammasat University and the Department of Cultural Promotion to raise awareness of the value of Thai arts, a feature that has been passed down generation to generation.
Featuring 93 classic khon masks from the reign of King Rama V to present-day, this is an open stage for master craftsmen and young artists to showcase their creativity and exchange knowledge and allow visitors to learn about Thai cultural movements and the development of khon.
"Even though Unesco has listed khon as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, we don't only focus on the performing art but all elements of masked dance drama. Khon masks play a major role and make these performances different. Therefore, we want to support khon mask artists and raise the visibility of traditional art," said Asst Prof Anucha Thirakanont, dean of the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts at Thammasat University.
"To build an ecosystem for khon is a duty of all Thais in order to maintain our tradition. It shouldn't be frozen in a museum and we have to think about how to advance it further. In fact, cultural movements never stop."
Normally, khon masks are fashioned out of papier-mâché and covered with lacquer and gold leaf, making them lightweight and well-ventilated. Back in the Ayutthaya period, the pulp of khoi trees was used as the main material before artisans shifted to easier-to-find mulberry paper to save costs. In recent years, the Support Foundation of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand has managed to revive the art of khoi paper-making to craft a collection of durable khon masks.
The 'Khon Mask' exhibition combines 93 masterpieces from the King Rama V era to present. Photos: Varuth Hirunyatheb
"Besides the use of paper, today we can also find khon masks made from resin or metal, depending on its function. At the same time, powder colour is replaced with acrylic colours to paint the masks as artisans have more chemical options for gilding gold leaf rather than lacquer," Anucha said.
"This exhibition offers khon masks from different periods of time so that artists and visitors can share their ideas and admire works together. Khon mask-making is conventional art but there's no need to copy the original design. Artists can show off their creativity and put their own identity into the details."
The khon mask dance originated in the royal court and became popular in the capital before reaching other areas during the reigns of King Rama VI and Rama VII. Traditionally, master artisans set up their own ateliers in Nonthaburi, Ayutthaya and Ang Thong, where young art students were trained on how to mould and decorate masks, paint a face and mix colours using ancient methods.
"Khon mask-making has been added to educational programmes at Poh Chang Academy of Arts, the Royal Craftsmen School, Bunditpatanasilpa Institute and the craft centres under the Support Foundation of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand. They have maintained the masters' unique techniques and style. For example, Kru Chit Kaewduangyai is a master artisan who has restored and created elaborate khon masks for the Fine Arts Department. He pays attention to every detail and his unique drawing reflects facial expressions, making his works come alive," Anucha said.
The bear Chompu Mee.
"In the past, master artisans kept techniques of creating clay or plaster moulds a secret because it was the heart of khon mask-making. Fortunately, the Poh Chang Academy of Arts now educates students on a standard mould so that all masks are shaped to fit human faces. Traditionally, khon masks were small in size since the dance was performed by the young and females, however, Thais now have a bigger bone structure and the khon masked dance is performed by senior artists, so masks are made to be bigger in size."
Based on characters in the Ramakien epic, khon masks are classified into deity, demon and monkey. There are also some masks crafted for venerable characters like Ngoa, Rishi, Phra Pirap (demon deity) and Phra Pikanet (Hindu god Ganesha) -- all of these masks have been used in holy rituals to pay homage to art masters.
"Generally, khon masks are made to be worn during a performance and to pay respect to art masters. For example, a Ngoa mask has been used in the Wai Kru ritual because this character from the Tale Of Sang Thong has a high-class dance pattern," Anucha said.
The Moon Plum mask from Kru Manlee Kongprapat's chamber.
"The Ramakien epic is the origin of khon masked dance. Each performer needs to wear masks to identify their characters ranging from demon to monkey. Each mask has different colours, headdresses and facial expressions. However, the characters of Phra Ram and Phra Lak performed unmasked in the King Rama VI period since the king recommended that a real face was more beautiful than khon masks."
Kru Chit Kaewduangyai's masterpieces are the highlight of the exhibition. The old mask of Moon Plum was once worn by Kru Manlee Kongprapat as part of a performance in front of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. She was a female khon performer from the reign of King Rama VII and became one of the first teachers at the College of Dramatic Arts.
Alongside this are the gold masks of Phra Pirap and Ngoa as well as the Hanuman mask for the scene, in which the monkey god wore Indrachit's headdress and pretended to surrender to Tossakan. Visitors can also admire a series of Phra Isuan and Narai masks painted in purple and white by Kru Samnieng Phadungsilp.
Also on display is a rare collection of special characters like the mighty bird Phya Sampati, the bear Chompu Mee, deer-head Kalaikot Rishi, the young ogre Sinsamut and the boar Varaha, which is the avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu.
The "Khon Mask" exhibition is on view on the 4th floor of the Queen's Gallery until Dec 20. It's open daily from 10am to 7pm (except Wednesday). Admission is 50 baht. Find out more details at queengallery.org and facebook.com/queengallerybkk.
The gold mask of Ngoa.
Phra Visanukam.
The mighty bird Sampati.
The boar Varaha.
