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1c. The Status and Rank of the President of the United States

 

Royal Gifts from Thailand

Smithsonian – Gallery 1

Thai Silk “Two pieces of Poom cloth of second quality”

Pha Pum Thai (Thai “second quality”)

  • Gifts of King Mongkut, 1856
  • Harris Treaty Gifts
  • Silk, natural dyes, weft mudmee (ikat)
  • Department of Anthropology, cat. no: E83 b
  • 326 cm length x 94 cm width

Card addressed to President Franklin Pierce

  • Sent with gifts from King Mongkut, 1856
  • Harris Treaty Gifts Paper
  • Department of Anthropology, cat. no: E53
  • 21 cm length x10.4 cm width

Niello Betel Set

  • Gift of Phra Pin Klao, 1856
  • “Silverware plated with gold”
  • Betel Set

Phan mak thom ta thong mi khruang nai

  • Gift of Phra Pin Klao, 1856
  • Harris Treaty Gifts
  • Nielloware (silver, silver alloy, and gold)
  • Department of Anthropology, cat. nos: E57, E58, E59, E60, E61, E62

“A Great Siamese Drum or Tom-Tom Peaked with Silver Peaks”

Klong yai yang
  • Thai Gifts of King Mongkut, 1856
  • Harris Treaty Gifts
  • Department of Anthropology, cat. no: E68 (3947)
  • 46.2 cm height x 44 cm diameter
Drum (Klong Chana)
  • Gift of King Chulalongkorn, 1876
  • Siam Exhibit, Centennial Exposition
  • Department of Anthropology, cat. no: E27257
  • 51 cm height x 47 cm diameter

Kris with aviform hilt

Kris lek lai yang di khru’ang mai kaew pradap duai thong

“A finest Kris made of mixture of steels of different colours, with its case and handle made of kew wood ornamented with gold”

  • Gift of King Mongkut, 1856
  • Harris Treaty Gifts
  • Pamor steel, wood, gemstones, velvet, gold
  • Department of Anthropology, cat. no: E100
  • 44 cm length x 15 cm width at top of scabbard

“A Siamese spear in bamboo-cane ornamented with gold."

Hok kam mai phai khru’ang khram thong

  • Gift of King Mongkut, 1856
  • Harris Treaty Gifts
  • Staff (probably Mai phlong) bamboo, gold and enamel
  • Department of Anthropology, cat. no: E3993
  • 91 cm length x 1.5 cm width

Nielloware Betel Set with Tonsure Scissors

Khruang ngoen lai cham lak thom ya dam ka lai thong

“A Siamese hair-cutting scissors diversified and bottomed with gold”

Kan trai khruang tat phom yang thai khram thong

  • Gifts of King Mongkut, 1856
  • Harris Treaty Gifts
  • Nielloware (Silver, silver alloy, and gold)
  • Bowl and stand, Department of Anthropology, cat. nos: E63; Water Pot, USNM no: E65; Tonsure Scissors, USNM no: E66

King Mongkut and Queen Debsirindra, 1856

  • Gift of King Mongkut, 1856
  • Harris Treaty Gifts
  • Department of Anthropology, cat. no: E4003
  • Smithsonian Institution
  • National Anthropological Archives Inventory no: 1735

Brass gong

Gong and sticks

Mong

  • Gift of Phra Pin Klao, 1856
  • Harris Treaty Gifts
  • Department of Anthropology, cat. no: E94 (3992)
  • 51 cm diameter x 7.6 cm depth

A set of drums, one end “male”, one “female”

Klong phu; Klong mia kap chi samrap nung

  • Gifts of King Mongkut, 1856
  • Harris Treaty Gifts
  • Department of Anthropology, cat. no: E67 (3945), 73 cm height x 34 cm diameter (male), 32 cm (female)
  • Department of Anthropology, cat. no: E69 (3946) 72 cm height x 35 cm diameter (male), 32 cm (female)

All of the European monarchs and states had been put on an equal footing with the Thai court, as evidenced by the Royal level of gifts sent to Queen Victoria, and to France. In the past, the Thai court had sent a “Gift of Respect” to the United States. But what to do with the President of the United States, an elected official in a democratic country?

This was a great matter for consideration during the negotiations for the Harris Treaty of 1857. King Mongkut had apparently rejected the thought of sending another “Gift of Respect.” But what level of gift should be sent at the conclusion of the Treaty negotiations?

King Mongkut decided that the President of the United States is not quite a monarch, but as the head of state, he should receive a Royal Letter along with the insignia of rank of a very high nobleman, rather than the insignia of a king’s rank. In contrast, gifts to Western Monarchs were the equivalent of the jewel-encrusted possessions of Royal Family members. King Mongkut and his brother, Phra Pin Klao who was simultaneously a reigning Upparat (the Second King), each sent sets of gifts to President Pierce.

Phra Pin Klao’s gift was the more traditional of the two. He sent “elegant and costly specimens of Siamese Garments…, silverware plated with gold…, 1 Brass Drum, 1 Brass Gong, and 2 Brass Stands.” The categories represented here are textiles, nielloware betel set, gongs and offering stands (brass instead of pearl-inlay lacquerware).

King Mongkut sent a sword, a kris, a spear, two pairs of gold and silver spears, a tonsure scissors, a pipe and snuff box, a gold snuff box, a cat’s-eye ring, golden pocket inkstand, a nielloware betel set of five pieces, “Japanese Vases” or the pearl inlay lacquerware ta lum, a Siamese drum, a pair of long drums, two pieces of gilt silk cloth, and four Khmer silk cloths.

King Mongkut added two very Western things, a long, chatty letter in English (a great contrast to the formal Thai Royal Letter), and a photograph of himself and his Queen.

The major part of this gift is the traditional kru’ang yot. The personal items added on – snuff boxes, pipe, ink stand, ring – are all not traditionally included in these kru’ang yot gifts, though they are of value in everyday Western life of the nineteenth century.

Gallery 1