James H.W. Thompson, an American who lived and loved Thai life, especially Thai silk, initiated the restoration of Thai silks, and made it known globally. Today, he's gone. According to the record saying about his disappearance during the vacation in Malaysia in 1967, his cultural heritage, however, still lives through time. His Thai house right in the pulse of Bangkok has been turned to be a museum, so that the later generation can witness and appreciate the ancient arts via his Asian collections; be it Thai, Cambodian, Burmese, Indonesian and Chinese.
The museum is the gathering of 6 Thai houses. The exhibition sections are in the biggest one, divided into 8 rooms, and the small 2 houses at the backyard. In the middle of the compound, a shady garden is arranged with benches for visitors to relax. Don't worry if you wouldn't understand the explanation, as there are guides with 4 languages literacy (Thai, English, Japanese and French). Photography, however, is not allowed as some ancient artifacts are light sensitive and might be damages by flash light.
The way Jim Thompson's House arranges the artifacts is like a house decoration, where things are places as parts of the house as if the owner still lived there. Visit the bedroom, study room and living room and see the items closely. Only the fragile ones are displayed in the glass shelves in another room. The wall are ornamented by religious paintings coming from the Northern Thai temples. The items on show are Chinese chinaware, Thai 5-hued porcelains (Benjarong), Burmese wood statues (Nat), Indonesian Balong Lion statue and Chinese hamster cage, which was considered as high-end craft and games in the past.
You can ask as many questions as you want, as the friendly staff are willing to answer in details. You might wonder about that huge carved bench with mosaics, or animal shape spittoon that doesn't look like one. You can also ask the biography of Mr.Jim Thompson or the background of the museum, too. Whatever it is, they have the answers for you.
The oldest archeological artifact is the Dvaravati Buddha statue, which was made 2000 years ago. This Buddha is placed on the ground floor of the exhibition hall. Apart from the displayed items, the house itself also reflects the perspective and lifestyle of Thai people in the past. Take a closer look and you will notice that the walls and windows are reconstructed by reversing the exterior to be inside. That's because the owner wanted the visitor to see the beautiful carved details, which were originally outside. And like other architects, creativities of the owner were put into furniture as well, like the Thai traditional drum and Chinese vase were used as lamp stands. That accidentally added the cozy touch in a modern contemporary way.
