Storage plans for National Museum treasures
The Fine Arts Department will request a Bt500-million budget to build a large new warehouse to store historical artefacts now that a facility under the National Museum in Pathum Thani is full.
More than 30,000 artefacts are not stored properly at the Pathum Thani facility, said director-general Sahawat Naenna. The new warehouse, which would serve as a communal storage, is meant to ease the burden on the National Museum while also accommodating new artefacts – either items yet to be discovered, or others returned from collectors worldwide, he added.
A separate Bt42 million in transport costs would be requested in a five-year departmental plan starting next year, he said.
The items will be categorised at the new warehouse, which will also store another 10,000 pieces scattered in the department’s custody at various locations around the country or in private possessions.
The department is set to acquire a number of significant artefacts from abroad, after foreign collectors agreed to return them to Thailand. They include three collectors holding 30 shadow-play figures, a number of ancient Buddha images from a Japanese collector, and items from a Chicago-based museum.
