Past Perfect

BAN PLAINERN was for more than three decades the residence of a great master of Siamese art, Prince Narisara Nuvadtivongs, the 62nd son of King Mongkut (Rama IV). 
The wonderful old residential compound on a tranquil lane off the road now called Rama IV later belonged to MC Karnika Chitrabongs, youngest daughter of Prince Naris, until her death in 2015. 

Another generation of the Chitrabongs family took over and ordered extensive renovations that began in March and will continue into next spring. The aim is to make the compound a hub for artists and anyone else who has a passion for classical Thai art. 

The Western-style brick house contains a veritable treasure trove of Prince Naris’ art collections and personal items. 

The annual open house will return next April 28 and 29, a great chance to admire the buildings, art and artefacts. MR Kalaya Tingsabadh, Prince Naris’ granddaughter, this week hosted a press tour showing the work in progress. 
It was also an opportunity to discuss the family’s problems with a development project planned next door.
“Prince Naris lived here until his last day in 1947,” Kalaya explained. “After Unesco honoured him as a Person of International Importance in 1963, the family set up the Naris Foundation to support talented art students, and the following year we renovated the house for a Prince Naris birthday celebration, a fundraiser for the foundation.”
The open house will again feature performances of traditional Thai music and dance and a feast of royal cuisine, along with a wai khru ceremony at which art students will honour their teachers and art masters of the past. 
“Last year we promoted the event on the social media and got about 2,000 visitors,” Kalaya said. “The turnout was so phenomenal that we decided to turn the house into an art hub.” 
The neighbourhood dispute that’s arisen involves plans to build a high-rise condominium less than 24 metres from the compound. The Chitrabongs family has a petition at Change.org that’s so far collected 9,500 signatures. 
“The project is too close to this historical site,” says ML Chittawadi Chitrabongs, Prince Naris’ great-granddaughter, an architect who’s in charge of renovating the estate. 

Prince Naris and family moved in 1915 from Tha Phra Palace in Rattanakosin to Ban Plainern.

“We’re afraid the construction might put these 100-year-old buildings in danger. The condo is intended to have more than 400 residents. I don’t even want to imagine what might happen if anyone tosses a cigarette butt off their balcony!”
The history of Ban Plainern can be traced in three stages, the latest beginning in 2015. 
Prince Naris, suffering health problems and weary of the chaotic development then rattling Rattanakosin Island in old Bangkok, built Tamnak Thai (Thai House) – known as Ban Plainern – in Khlong Toei in 1914. Two existing houses were transported to the site, the older of which once belonged to Phraya Ratchamontri. The other previously stood behind Wat Kalayanamitr Varamahavihara.
Merged into one residence, the building was elongated to help the breezes flow through. The living room was also the dining area and there was a brightly sunlit art studio. It had a corridor rather than an outdoor deck, and roof louvers set in place in such a way that wooden roof tiles were entwined with nails.
The conjoined structure was home to Prince Naris, his third wife MR To Ngon-rot and their six children. 
Chittawadi said renovation so far has seen cement pillars replacing the original wood to strengthen the foundation and all the eaves removed to minimise humidity. “We’ve also improved the electrical and water-drainage systems,” she said.
MR To, seeking more convenience around the home, designed a two-storey Western-style brick house for Prince Naris and two of the daughters, with its own living room, dining room and bedrooms. 
“Prince Naris’ bedroom was at one corner on the second floor,” Chittawadi pointed out. “Today it feels like a Prince Naris time capsule – it holds his funeral ashes, hair, fingernails, some of his sketches and all the items he used in daily life.” 

The Prince conceived a mural for the ceiling of Phra Thinang Borom Phiman at the Grand Palace, depicting the Sun riding a carriage. 
During the second phase from 1947 to 2015, the property was divided into five parts and the Thai and brick houses were sealed off for conservation. 
Newly added was Ruen Khun Ya, a residence designed by MC Yachai Chitrabongs that is famously remembered as the place Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn comes every week for lessons in Thai classical music. 
Next to the brick house, MC Karnika Chitrabongs erected a building painted mint green where traditional dancing was taught and performed. Like a rehearsal hall for ballet, it has tall windows that overlook the garden and a pavilion where khon masked dance was taught. 
“It was used as an art school where children learned classical dancing, khon and lakhon nai – the performance art of the royal court,” Kalaya said. “But the operation was terminated after His Majesty King Bhumibol passed away in 2016.”
The green house is for now a temporary gallery exhibiting Prince Naris’ art and collectibles, including his original sketches for the crematorium of King Rama VI. 

The Prince’s sketch for the crematorium of King Rama VI 

You can also see a sketch of a talipot fan used at the coronation of King Rama VII, a valuable khon mask of Tossakan with a low-relief floral motif even on the back, and several personal items, among them a leather wallet, walking sticks and a daily appointment book. 
“We’re making a list of the art and antiques in his bedroom,” said ML Trichak Chitrabongs. “We just discovered a mannequin that the Italian artist Corrado Feroci [later Silpa Bhirasri] made in Prince Naris’ likeness, as well as 298 art books that Prince Naris must have read.
“There’s also his sketchbook of ideas for his remarkable murals, like the Sun riding a horse-drawn carriage, which is depicted in the Grand Palace, and Lord Buddha descending from Heaven, which you can see at Wat Rachathiwat Ratchaworawihan.”
  

HISTORY NEVER GETS OLD
>> Ban Plainern is at 1164 Rama IV Road in Khlong Toei. 
>> Learn more on the Naris Foundation page on Facebook.