The extraordinarily beautiful old Thai houses that Thompson found near Ayutthaya and brought by river to Bangkok have not vanished however. Now owned by a charitable trust, they are used to display the splendid art collection the American had built up. All the proceeds of admission go to various charitable institutions in Thailand.
The seven wooden houses - which every visitor should try to see - are now almost unique in the country
and contain treasures representing every period of Thai art. They are picturesquely situated in Soi Kasem San, in a pretty garden by the side of a klong on the opposite bank of which the silk weavers once worked.
Once inside, the cultured taste of the former owner is everywhere apparent. As well as old pictures in Thai silk, and Buddha figures from nearly every major epoch, there are numerous everyday items and many other works of art. Note in particular the sideboard, once part of a Chinese altar, and the miniature palace which children of some rich family would have used for keeping pets. A Buddhist by conviction, Jim Thompson moved into his house only when temple astrologers deemed the moment auspicious. Even so, he was granted but a short time in it. Just seven years later he left Bangkok never to return.
Once inside, the cultured taste of the former owner is everywhere apparent. As well as old pictures in Thai silk, and Buddha figures from nearly every major epoch, there are numerous everyday items and many other works of art. Note in particular the sideboard, once part of a Chinese altar, and the miniature palace which children of some rich family would have used for keeping pets. A Buddhist by conviction, Jim Thompson moved into his house only when temple astrologers deemed the moment auspicious. Even so, he was granted but a short time in it. Just seven years later he left Bangkok never to return.
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