Suan Pakkad Palace

In 1952 Their Royal Highnesses Prince and Princess Chumbhot of Nagara Svarga built a reception pavilion in the garden of Suan Pakkad Palace in which to entertain guests. They decided to display their collection of antiquities in it and to open it to the public on several days of each week, using the proceeds of the admission fees to promote culture in Thailand. Since the Prince's death in 1959 the Princess has carried out their plan.

While a few of the objects on display come from foreign countries, the great majority which will be described later in different sections are from Thailand. They include prehistoric artifacts, sculpture ranging from the 7th century A.D. to the 19th, and ceramic wares of various periods, furniture and curios from the 17th century to modern times.

The Thai building in Suan Pakkad Palace is a fine example of traditional Thai domestic architecture, consisting of several separate houses built on stout posts which raise them two meters or more above the ground. The houses are rectangular in plan, with walls of teak panelling; the steep ridge-roofs have overhanging eaves to protect against sun and rain; and the tall pointed barge-boards at the gable ends are turned up in the traditional pattern where they meet the eaves. The houses are old ones, removed from other sites. Some of them belonged to Prince Chumbhot's great-great-grandfather, Somdet Ong Noi, a member of the Bunnag family who was one of the two Regents in the time of King Rama IV or King Mongkut (r. 1851-68). At Suan Pakkad Palace they have been re-assembled on a plan which allows the public to move easily from one to another and to see the exhibits to best advantage.

A flight of stairs near the driveway leads to House I, which is located on the north side of the property parallel to Sri Ayudhya Road. An exhibition of old photographs can be seen under this house. House II and III, with a covered hallway between them, are south of House I, on the other side of the driveway, and connected to it by a footbridge. South of these two houses and contiguous to them is House IV, from which a stairway leads down to ground level. House V and VI are located along the west side of the property a short distance away. The main axis of House IV is parallel to that of House I, while that of the other houses is at right angles to it, so that monotony is avoided and the soaring barge-boards provide a lively silhouette. Another important building at Suan Pakkad Palace, the Lacquer Pavilion, stands in the main garden to the south of House IV. If one continues on a small path in front of House V to the south and turns right, one will arrive at House VII on the right side and then a beautiful small garden in the back part of the compound.