The Kamthieng House Museum () is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

in Watthana District,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

, run by the Siam Society under royal patronage. It is a 174-year-old traditional teakwood house from Chiang Mai that was transported to Bangkok and opened by King Bhumibol in 1966. The house is an example of traditional housing from Northern Thailand and showcases the culture and lifestyle of the northern Lanna people. Due to its exposure to the elements for around 2 centuries, the house is in a fragile state, with the roof being in need for renovation.

Design

The house consists of 2 rectangular houses with covered verandas and a walkway leading to the kitchen, all of which is elevated from the ground on 36 octagonal teak pillars. Following the style found in Northern houses, its walls slightly lean outward to the lower edge of the roof which is in a V-shape. Although not part of the original, an open veranda and two rice granaries were added from Chiang Mai.

History

Kamthieng House Museum at the Siam Society Bangkok

The

teakwood Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...

house was built in the mid-1800s in Chiang Mai, Kingdom of Chiang Mai. Originally situated on the east bank of the Ping River, it was built by the great-granddaughter of a Mueang Chae prince, Mae Saed. After being passed down through several generations of a Lanna matrilineal clan, it was gifted in 1963 to the Siam Society by Kimhaw Nimmanhaeminda. Kimhaw was a direct descendant of Mae Saed, and the house was named after her mother, Kamthieng Anusarnsunthorn. Kamthieng was born within this house. In order to be transported to Bangkok, the house was dismantled, transported from Chiang Mai and reconstructed in Bangkok within the span of two years. On 21 November 1966, the museum was opened by then current king of Thailand,

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; (Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great ...

. The exhibition was initially installed to provide knowledge about the beliefs and culture of the Lanna people.

References

External links

Siam Society , Kamthieng House Museum

Kamthieng House Museum of The Siam Society at Google Cultural Institute
Museums in Bangkok Historic house museums in Thailand {{Thailand-museum-stub

Design

History

References

Further reading

External links