2b. United States Centennial Exposition, Philadelphia, 1876
Royal Gifts from Thailand
Smithsonian – Gallery 2
Thailand’s participation in the Centennial Exposition of 1876, held in Philadelphia, was extraordinary. A massive exhibit of Thai artifacts and manufactured goods -over 900 items- was assembled at a cost of over $96,000 (in 1875 dollars). Again the kru’ang yot composed a part of the gift.
The exhibit included items relating to the Thai traditional arts, religious life, and culture such as Buddhist monk’s equipment, the royal heraldic seal, and scale models of the royal funerary chariot and of the magnificent royal barges. There were also leather shadow puppets representing figures from the Ramakien– a Thai epic based on the Indian Ramayana– and all of the stages and screens required for a shadow play, or nang, along with theatrical or khon masks of Ramakien characters. Also included were all of the musical instruments used in such performances.
This impressive exhibit also included common everyday items showing the richness of Siamese manufactured and agricultural goods, such as Siamese silk and cotton cloth, household items, clothing, objects relating to animal husbandry, basketry, metal and woodworking tools, artists’ painting and sculpting tools, fish traps and other fishing gear, mats, ceramics, and, reminiscent of the “Gift of Respect,” samples of exotic woods and mineral ores and agricultural items (including 66 samples of various strains of rice at various stages of rice gestation).
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