Queen Savang Vadhana Museum


The Queen Savang Vadhana Museum is the Thai traditional museum that show the royal duties of Queen Savang Vadhana who was a consort of King Chulalongkorn and the grandmother of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The museum is located at Sa Pathum Palace, Bangkok. The museum was established in 2008 in the former building of the Queen Savang Vadhana's Mansion. It is open annually from mid-December to March.

History

The Queen Savang Vadhana Museum used to be the mansion of Queen Savang Vadhana from 1916 till the end of her life on 17 December 1955 Then it became the mansion of Princess Srinagarindra. After Princess Srinagarindra passed away, King Bhumibol Adulyadej gave the palace to Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. The building became one of the important buildings of the Thai Royal family and Thai history from generation to generation.
On 27 October 2005, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn formed Queen Savang Vadhana Foundation to serve as a resource center for further studies of the royal activities of Queen Savang Vadhana. On 17 December 2008, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn established the Queen Savang Vadhana Museum at the Phra Tamnak Yai to remind the speech of King Bhumibol Adulyadej that this place should be established as the museum for Queen Savang Vadhan Celebration and to show the royal duties and royal activities of Queen Savang Vadhana to be the model of people during her time. It also marks the celebrations on the occasion of the King’s 80th Birthday on Anniversary 5 December 2007.

Exhibition

Main Exhibition

The main exhibition is separated into two parts
  1. Exhibition hall – is displays the documentary of the history of the Queen Savang Vadhana Museum including the history of Queen Savang Vadhana’s life, the exhibition about the renovation of Phra Tamnak Yai, Sa Pathum Palace and the special exhibition of the season.
  2. The Phra Tamnak Yai – The mansion of Queen Savang Vadhana from 1916 till 1995. She planned the interior zoning by herself then assigned architects to design following her plan, which mainly is about the flow of the wind directions of each season. The building was finished in the period of 1914-1915.

    Phra Tamnak Yai Exhibition

The Phra Tamnak Yai exhibition is divided into three collections that display the three periods of the palace
  1. The first period of the building when her husband was back from overseas and the time of their wedding ceremony in 1920.
  2. The period after marriage and had a daughter and the daughter returned home from England.
  3. Shows the other room inside the building when her son came back to Thailand from the United States of America after graduating with his wife and three children, a daughter and two sons, King Rama VIII and King Rama IX. The second-floor houses, a bedroom which leads out to the balcony where Queen Savang Vadhana presided over the royal wedding ceremony of her grandson.