Woven Fringed Silk Shawl

Preservation of traditional weaving techniques of Thailand is a major focus of Her Majesty’s SUPPORT Foundation, and textiles produced by the foundation’s artisans have regularly been included among gifts to U.S. presidents and first ladies. The textile gifted to President George H. W. Bush (b. 1924) in 1991 is in the phraewa brocade style found among the Phu Tai tribe in northeast Thailand. Prior to the SUPPORT Foundation and in the early years of its development, Queen Sirikit’s gift-giving also promoted local businesses, such as Star of Siam, a Bangkok silk company that produced the jacket gifted to First Lady Rosalynn Carter in 1980.