Arms room Grand Palace Bangkok

Rather · 6th December 2004, 08:09 AM

I do agree with former comments, great collection, but in extremely poor condition. In my opinion it is not a matter of funds, it is a matter of general approach to the displayed items. I am not talking about a professional restoration, but about pure and simple conservation. Why are so many old Japanese blades still in tremendous condition, while European swords of the same age are mostly found in much poorer shape and we accept spots of rust on them as normal. The Samurai sword was always and is still esteemed, but for generations nobody cared about the old swords here. So, it is important that the persons responsible for the collection realise the immense historical value and don’t treat the displayed items just as curiosities.
This in not a problem you will find only in Thailand. I remember that till a few years ago the municipal museum of Moelln, a small town near Hamburg, still displayed 400 years old execution swords the same way. Or the Museum for Islamic Art in Kairo, they had problems with a display of copper coins, so they just used a few drops of all purpose glue to fix them…...

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6th December 2004, 08:09 AM	#11
Rather Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Hamburg, Germany Posts: 72	I do agree with former comments, great collection, but in extremely poor condition. In my opinion it is not a matter of funds, it is a matter of general approach to the displayed items. I am not talking about a professional restoration, but about pure and simple conservation. Why are so many old Japanese blades still in tremendous condition, while European swords of the same age are mostly found in much poorer shape and we accept spots of rust on them as normal. The Samurai sword was always and is still esteemed, but for generations nobody cared about the old swords here. So, it is important that the persons responsible for the collection realise the immense historical value and don’t treat the displayed items just as curiosities. This in not a problem you will find only in Thailand. I remember that till a few years ago the municipal museum of Moelln, a small town near Hamburg, still displayed 400 years old execution swords the same way. Or the Museum for Islamic Art in Kairo, they had problems with a display of copper coins, so they just used a few drops of all purpose glue to fix them…...