Portrait of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in silver niello frame with gold royal cypher

King Mongkut, ruling during the advent of the daguerreotype, embraced the Western tradition of royal portraiture and included his likeness with letters and gifts to foreign heads of state. Beginning in the reign of King Chulalongkorn, the royal portraits commonly featured the king in Western-style military attire. Their Majesties King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit frequently gifted royal portraits, often within decorative niello frames, in their exchanges with presidents. Although the two never met, President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) received this royal portrait with a handwritten inscription from King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1963.