Khon costumes on display at Queen Sirikit Museum
A selection of khon costumes, masks and jewellery from the ancient to modern era will be displayed during the “Dressing Gods and Demons: Costume for Khon” exhibition at the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles starting this Thursday.
Held to mark the 7th cycle of HM the Queen’s birthday, the exhibition is an opportunity to view more than 100 pieces of khon costumes and related items dated back 100 years ago as well as those from the private collections of khon experts.
Besides, the exhibition will describe the origins of khon masked dance, one of Thailand’s oldest narrative dance forms and its revival following Her Majesty’s initiation. In 2005, she assembled a scholarly research team to discover what the costumes might have looked like in the past and specialists were selected to design new costumes to fit contemporary adults.
Through her Support Foundation, she commissioned a new theatrical interpretation based on what was known about the earlier court versions of khon. As a result, the first performance, The Khon Performance: Episode of Prommas, was staged in 2007 to celebrate His Majesty the King’s 80th birthday and Her Majesty the Queen’s 75th birthday. The show was so well-received that the Queen requested that a khon performance be presented annually.
The tremendous success of Her Majesty’s effort has given a new life to the design of khon costumes, provided training and employment for hundreds of craftspeople, dancers, musicians, and singers as well as introducing khon to new audiences of all ages.
The exhibition will be running for around two years alongside the “Fit for a Queen: Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s Creations by Balmain” exhibition, which will display 30 royal costumes and accessories from Her Majesty’s Western wardrobe created by renowned French couturier Pierre Balmain.
Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles is located on the Grand Palace’s compound on Na Phra Lan Road and opens daily from 9am to 4.30pm. Admission fee is 150 baht (80 baht for seniors and 50 baht for students and children).