Background to the museum
The Sawanvoranayok (sa-wan-vo-ra-na-yok) National Museum was the brainchild of Phra Sawanvoranayok, an abbot from Wat Sawankharam and the chief administrator of the Buddhist clergy in Sukhothai.
Phra Sawanvoranayok wanted to preserve the Thai national heritage by bequeathing his personal collection of old artefacts to the nation. In 1981 the Fine Arts Department received these artefacts together with exhibits from Ramkhamhaeng National Museum in Sukhothai and the excavation sites at Si Satchanalai.
Also included were Sangkhalok wares recovered from ship wrecks in the Gulf of Thailand and artefacts donated by members of the public.
Last month we visited the ancient kilns in Si Satchanalai that produced these ceramics so popular in S E Asia in the 13th – 16th C. Let’s visit the Sawanvoranayok National Museum in Sawankhalok city to view these exhibits that are more than 700 years old.