Contemporary
Thai
By Wongvipa Devahastin na Ayudhya
with Jane Marsden Doughty
Photography by Luca Invernizzi Tettoni
Published by Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
Text © 2000 Wongvipa Devahastin na Ayudhya
Photos © 2000 Luca Invernizzi Tettoni
All rights reserved
ISBN: 978-1-4629-0688-8 (ebook)
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Previous page: Illustrious Company. Enjoyed by royalty and heads of state, Khomapastr's pha geow phim tong fabric was used to upholster furniture supplied by Jim Thompson in the rarefied Thai suite of the Peninsula Hote, Bangkok.
One night in Bangkok. Bai-sri and bencharong are a sophisticated combination at the Peninsula Hotel. The ancient floral decorative arts of bai-sri and phoum (by Sakul Intakul studio) complement this stylish dinner set from Naga House, Bangkok.
Adding warmth to a contemporary home are this lamp base and vase in strong lines and earthy colours designed by Eakrit Praditsuwana of Earth & Fire, Bangkok.
Contents
Traditional festival cloth lanterns enhance the rustic feel of Chairat Kamonorathep's open-air sala in Chiang Mai
The New Thai Style
One evening late in the 20th century, movie director Roman Polanski arrived at the Cannes Film Festival with his stunning young actress wife Emmanuelle Seigner. Her radiance was rivalled only by the single and singularly large luminescent pearl suspended like a sun-kissed dewdrop round her neck. Polanski was later to say that "the mixture of traditional handicraft and sophisticated elegance" of the Thai jewel was superb.
Of the same Bangkok-based boutique which made the one-off piece for Polanski-Lotus Arts de Vivre-fashion designer Kenzo Takada has noted its "plainness modernity and discreet references to the past". One can imagine the admiration of guests at Kenzo's Phuket villa when champagne is presented in an ice-bucket made of car tyres and sterling silver or wine in a rattan holder once used to store hill-tribesmen's seeds.
Thai style lies at the confluence of time-honoured handicrafts and contemporary tastes. It is the tension between Eastern ornateness and Western relevance; between palatial splendour and pared-down simplicity.
One only has to gaze at the kaleidoscopic colours, glittering and gilded finials and myriad decorative devices at Bangkok's Grand Palace to realise that traditional Thai style is one of Asia's most flamboyant and also one most permeable to outside influences. This is probably just as well, because the current global emphasis on clarity and simplicity in interior design has required significant streamlining by artisans traditionally employed to present the most intricate and elaborate treasures to the temple or palace. Methods and materials once reserved for royalty such as gold-leaf stencilling, lacquerware and the finest silks and celadons are now being utilised with an eye for their modern form and function. Presentation counts but not at the expense of practicality. Thus, a heavily carved and gilded altar table inspires a clean-lined, versatile side console by Thai furniture designer Ou Baholyodhin, whose clients include Donna Karan and Madonna. Modern aesthetics also apply; hence the neutral colour palette for silk ordered from Jim Thompson by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair for No. 10 Downing Street.
Cold-leaf work on this maroon lacquered panel at the Lanna Spa, Regent Resort Chiang Mai, depicts the tree under which the Buddha was meditating when he attained enlightenment. The puppet is in Burmese style. Stencilling and spa designed by Lek Bunnag, Bangkok.
It is also useful to remember that furniture was not customarily found in Thai homes apart from those of the upper classes. Indeed, while meticulously crafted, village objects had practical designs fashioned from local, sustainable materials. In a reverse take, the new Thai style elevates the simple to satisfy the sophisticated. Bamboo and rattan furniture, upholstered in the latest washable, rotatable natural fabrics, is now as presentable in the parlour as it was on the patio. Tribal kbit and yan lipao baskets, encouraged by mentors like Queen Sirikit's Support Foundation, are now