National museum to showcase rich silk heritage

To Showcase the beautiful silk heritage, an exhibition titled 'Mudmee: A Shared Silk Heritage', will be organised by the Royal Thai embassy, New Delhi, in collaboration with the National Museum and Thai Khadi Research Institute, Thammasat University.

The art show will feature around 50 pieces of old and new Mudmee silk from Thailand, and a few dresses and accessories made from Thai Mudmeesilk, along with a selection of Indian Ikat silk from the collection of the National Museum. It will be inaugurated by H E Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Ambassador of Thailand, and Dr B R Mani, Director General, National Museum, New Delhi on August 10 and will be on view till September 25.

There will be a special lecture and gallery walk by Dr Anucha Thirakanont, Director of Thai Khadi Research Institute and curator of the exhibition at the opening evening. Entry is free on the opening evening whereas a museum ticket is required on other days.

Thailand and India have shared a long history of textiles. Various types of textiles were imported from India to Siam for the local market and royal court use since Ayutthaya period (14th – 18th Century). including block-printed or painted cotton (chintz) from Masulipatnam, silk brocade from Banaras, and patola (double ikat silk) from Gujarat. Siamese had commissioned Indian-made textiles with Siamese royal patterns exclusively for the royal court, usually with the flame motifs, as seen in traditional Thai paintings and architecture. At the same time, textiles with simplified or mixed patterns of Indian taste were produced for the general Siamese public. These Indian-Thai patterns and motifs can still be seen in the Mudmee silk in Thailand today.