Home Exhibition Hall Photo Album Digital Camera Tip & Trick About Me Enter your search terms Submit search form The Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall is one of the Royal Palaces in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the beautiful white building facing the Royal Plaza, 200 meters behind the King Rama V Equestrian Monument. The Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall is a former reception hall within Dusit Palace. It is now a museum. In 1906, His Majesty King Rama V commissioned the construction of a new Throne Hall within the grounds of the Dusit Palace. The name Ananda Samakhom was taken from a previous building that had deteriorated and was no longer usable. The foundation stone was placed by His Majesty King Chulalongkorn in November 1908 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of his ascension to the throne. The design and construction was supervised by Chao Phraya Yommaraj, with a team of Italian architects, engineers and painters. Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall was constructed in the Italian Renaissance and Neoclassical style of architecture. The exterior is decorated with marble from Carrara, Italy. It is a two storey marble construction approximately 49.50 meters wide, 112.50 meters long and 49.50 meters high. The striking features of this architectural masterpiece by Mario Tamagno and Annibale Rigotti are the large center dome surrounded by six smaller domes, reminiscent of historical buildings in Europe. Construction was carried out during the latter years of King Rama V's life. It was completed in 1915, during the reign of King Vajiravudh or King Rama VI, having taken eight years and a total budget of 15 million baht to complete. The interior of the domes are exquisite paintings, by Mr. C. Riguli and Prof. G. Chini, depicting the history of the Chakri Dynasty, from the first to the sixth reign with scenes characterizing each king: • On the north side is a painting of His Majesty King Phra Phutta Yot Fa (Rama I), during the time when he was titled Somdet Chao Praya Maha Kasatsuk, upon his return from the war with Cambodia. • On the Eastern Dome is a painting of Their Majesties King Phra Phutta Loetla Napalai (Rama II) and Phra Nang Klao (Rama III) supporting art. • On the Western Dome is a painting of His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV) supporting religious activities. • On the Southern Dome is a painting of His Majesty King Chulalongkorn abolishing slavery. • The paintings on the walls under the central dome are of His Majesty King Vajiravudh (Rama VI)'s coronation at the Dusit Maha Prasart, Busabok Mala Grand throne in 1911. The walls of Ananda Samakhom are decorated with the Royal Monograms of His Majesty King Chulalongkorn and His Majesty King Vajiravudh, decorated with the garuda, the naga, the Erawan in natural surroundings and paintings of Thai and European children. Along the balcony of the central dome are ‘art nuveau' paintings of European ladies holding garlands of flowers. Though the architecture and decor are distinctly Italian, the paintings are a blend of Thai and European scenes. After the change from an Absolute Monarchy to a Constitutional Monarchy on the 24 th of June 1932, the Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall was used for many official functions, as was the wish of His Majesty King Chulalongkorn as well as holding the meetings of the Member of Parliament. Pictures in this photo album were taken by digital camera and resized to 1600x1197. Click the pictures to enlarge Size: 182 Kb Size: 248 Kb Size: 229 Kb Size: 276 Kb Size: 128 Kb Size: 172 Kb Size: 163 Kb Size: 201 Kb Size: 204 Kb Size: 195 Kb Size: 229 Kb Size: 194 Kb Size: 195 Kb Size: 228 Kb Size: 212 Kb Size: 210 Kb Size: 217 Kb Size: 202 Kb Size: 208 Kb Size: 207 Kb Size: 188 Kb Size: 217 Kb Size: 236 Kb Size: 202 Kb Enter your search terms Submit search form This website is hosted by www.agilityhoster.com (C) 2007-2009 All rights reserved.