The largest Asian museum is located in Bangkok. It is the National Museum of Thailand, with its collection housed in three buildings.
The museum's exhibition is housed in the Viceroy's Palace, which used to belong to the heir to the Thai throne. When the position was abolished in the mid-19th century, the building sat empty for a while before being converted for the museum. The palace complex includes three buildings. The exhibition in the Sivamokkhapchiman Ceremony Hall is dedicated to the history of Thailand. The jewel of the museum's collection, a stele with a text in Thai, dating back to the 13th century and considered to be the first example of Thai writing, is also displayed here. There is also a selection of bronze, ceramic and marble sacred sculptures from different parts of Thailand and neighbouring countries, jewellery, masks and a large collection of funerary carts. One of them, which weighs 40 tonnes and is 13 metres long, is astonishing. It required the efforts of 300 people to move it.
Part of the National Museum's collection is housed in the wooden Red House, moved here from the royal residence in Tonburi. The house is decorated in the style of old traditional Bangkok dwellings. It houses some items that were once the property of the ruler Sri Suriendra.
The third building in the National Museum complex is the Buddhaisawan Temple. It is located near Wang Na Palace and is a large, richly decorated pavilion with frescoes on religious themes, the main treasure of which is one of the Thai shrines - a figure of Sihing Buddha, carved, according to local legend, in the 13th century in Sri Lanka. In fact, it was created much later. Thai people believe that the statue can grant good luck to those who ask for it.
