via Bangkok Post, 07 February 2020: I went to the Queen Sirikit Textile Museum last year and saw the first rotation of Javanese textiles. The exhibition is currently on the second rotation of textiles, with a third one planned for later in the year.
Thailand and Indonesia have a long history of trade and diplomatic relations. Indeed, the shared history and culture of Siam and Java was of great interest to King Chulalongkorn, who visited the Indonesian island on three occasions — in 1870, 1896 and 1901.
During these trips, King Rama V developed a great love of batik textiles. He visited many batik production houses, eventually amassing a collection of 307 such textiles.
Some of these precious items are now on display at the Queen Sirikit Textile Museum in the Grand Palace as part of the exhibition “A Royal Treasure: Javanese Batik From The Collection Of King Chulalongkorn Of Siam”, which is being held to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Indonesia.
