The city’s most prominent museum revives the golden days of King Chulalongkorn’s (Rama V) era with Glass Plate Negatives: Stories That Transcend Time, an exhibition that showcases a collection of images captured on glass plates, a medium in photography that was popular until the late 20th century.
The collection chronicles the development of Siam during the late 19th century and early 1900s. The first part of the exhibit invites visitors to embark on an intimate journey with the King himself as he welcomes the Westernization of Siam. The photos in this set reveal His Majesty’s travels outside of Bangkok and the construction of palaces such as Khoa Wang (Phra Nakhon Khiri) in Phetchaburi.
The second part is presented like an intermission of sorts and unveils rare images of everyday life in Siam during the early Rattanakosin and late Ayutthaya periods, before Western culture was integrated into society.
A collection called “East Meets West” comes next. A series of images show how Westerners contributed to the glory days of King Chulalongkorn, and how Western influences started infiltrating the country’s art and architecture. It also includes portraits of the earliest European settlers in Siam.
The latter part of the exhibition is all about the modernization of Siam. Dubbed “Moving Forward,” it reveals how Western technology and materials played a vital role in Siam’s pursuit of technological innovations like the railway system. At the same time, it introduces the concept of “disruption” to traditional Siamese culture.
