This museum was built in the reign of King Taksin. It is the place for keeping barges which are used to march in formation through water course in royal ceremony.

          Though the royal barges of Thailand are the last of their kind, the spectacular pageant on water can still be seen in Thailand . And this legendary procession seems to have originated in the capital of Sukhothai kingdom, probably as in the 13th century.

          The earliest historical evidence concerning royal barges dates from the Sukhothai period, which mentions briefly some names of royal vessels participated in certain waterborne state ceremonies. The names of barges mentioned are Rua Prathinang Prahat Saeng Chan (Royal Barge for Appreciation of Moon - light), Rua Pratinang Chai Chalerm Tharanin (Royal Barge of Victory Over the Land); and Rua Prathinang Chai Sinthuphiman (Royal Barge of Victory on the Celestial River ).

Royal Barge procession models at Museum of Siam

          From the later historical evidences, we learn that in the subsequent Ayutthaya period, the magnificent processions included a large fleet of royal barges aligned on the rivers and canals at the island capital of Ayutthaya .

          During this period the most important royal barge processions had been organized for the royal Kathin ceremony. Once a year at the end of the rainy season. The Ayutthaya kings went to their royal monasteries to offer robes and other monastic paraphernalia to the monks.

          Towards the end of the period, it seems that the royal barge processions had also been held for other purposes than the Kathin ceremony. The kings then visited Saraburi once a year to pay homage to the newly discovered foot - prints of the Buddha.

          According to many other records, several of which were made by European missionaries, traders and envoys. The procession continued on to the last reign of the Ayutthaya period, but was in much smaller scale. Many of the remaining barges deteriorated gradually.

          During the war which brought about the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, the royal barges were lost along with other treasures and the records of the Kingdom.

          When King Rama I ascended the throne in 1782, to become the first king of the present Chakri Dynasty, he considered the renewal of national arts and craft and maintenance of tradition, an early. This included construction of new royal barges. So the royal barge procession survives and has occasionally been performed since then.

          On April 1932 King Rama VII crossed the lower span of the Memorial Bridge and embarked on the barge Suphanahong to travel by barge procession to the Grand Palace to mark the 150th Anniversary Celebration of the Chakri Dynasty and Bangkok as the capital city. That was the last Royal Barge Procession of an absolute Monarch of Siam.

          In the following June, a coup changed the government from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy. The barges were then kept at the dry dock on the Bangkok Noi Canal under the care of Royal Household and Royal Navy.

          The barge sustained severe damage during bombing of Bangkok in World War ll, soon after his return from school in Europe, King Rama IX went to see the barges in their dock. He ordered their restoration; and decided to revive the ancient tradition of the Royal Barge Procession for auspicious occasions. Artists under the direction of the Fine Arts Department spent more than a year repairing the damage. In 1972 this dock was then renovated and established by the Fine Arts Department as the National Museum of Royal Barges.

          The exhibition shows the barges and the objects used in the procession such as thrones, paddles, uniforms of oarsmen, figureheads of barges, etc. Because of the limit of museum space, only 8 important royal barges from about 51 of the whole procession are on display. Among these, the three most magnificent ones are

1. Suphannahong Royal Barge

 

           It was origainally built in the reign of King Rama I. It is one the most beatiful barge with golden swan figurehead - the barge for the king. It is the largest "dug - out" in the world, made from one piece of timber. The present one was imitated built in the reign of King Rama VI. In Addition to its artistic beauty, It is Thailand's unique symbols and representation. In 1992, the United Kingdom's World Ship Organization awarded it The World Ship Trust Maritime Heritage Award.

2. Narai Song Subhan Royal Barge

 

           This Barge which for the present King is the first royal barge constructed as a gift to King Rama IX on the auspicious occasion of his Golden Jubilee in 1996. The barge figure-headed depicts the god Narayan standing atop Garuda, his vehicle.

3. Anantanagaraj Royal Barge

 

           This Barge which figure-head is the seven headed Naga was built in the Ayutthaya Period. It served as King Rama IV's royal transport. The current barge was re-built in the reign of King Rama VI. In the Kathin ceremony procession, it is used to carry the monastic robes or elaborate floral offerings.

4. Anekcharphutchong Royal Barge

           It was the only rayal barge built in the reign of King Rama V. Its glided figure-headed is carved in the design of mythical nagas. In the priocession of Kathin ceremony, it is the second most important barge carrying lesser throne for the king.

5. Asura Wayuphak Barge

          It depicts a mythical bird with giant's face wearing a purple top. There is no record of its construction.

6. Krabi Prap Muang Mara Barge

           It was built in the reign of King Rama I. Its figure-headed is a white monkey warrior.

7. Khrut Hoen Het Barge

          It was also built in the reign of King rama I and its figure-headed is the garuda king catching a anaga.

8. Ekachai Hoen Hao Barge

          It was also built in the reign of King rama I and its figure-headed is painted in the design of the mythical half-crocodile creature called he-ra.

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