'Princely Things", an exhibition featuring a collection of rarely-viewed objects belonging to Prince Chudadhuj Dharadilok (1892-1923), son of King Rama V and Queen Saovabha, will be the main attraction at the annual Afternoon Tea and Open House at Tamnak Prathom Heritage Home in Ngam Wong Wan Soi 2, beginning Sunday. Gold birth plaques, royal regalia, porcelain and dinnerware will be on display. Also featured will be a collection of glassware belonging to Queen Saovabha, which was a gift from King Rama V after his first visit to Europe.

Miniature silver and Japanese porcelain dinner sets belonging to Princess Sudasiri Sobha (1921-1998) will also be on display, along with her collection of Venetian and Bohemian glassware.
The annual fundraiser, to benefit Queen Saovabha's Fund and Princess Sudasiri Sobha's Fund for the Thai Red Cross, will be inaugurated by Thanphuying MR Putrie Viravaidhya, deputy principal private secretary to His Majesty the King, at 3pm. It will be followed by a house tour and gala tea party with English tea and scones.
To round off the year-long 90th anniversary celebration of the Chudadhuj Harp, the first harp to be brought to Thailand by Prince Chudadhuj, a harp and violin duo concert, Songs My Mother Taught Me, will be held by mother-daughter pair Miyoko and Ema Mitarai, on the lawns of Tamnak Prathom.
The exhibition will run from Sunday until December 24 from 10am to 5pm, with harp performances every day from 11:30am to 1:30pm.
The week-long open house will end with high tea and a concert by the Tamnak Prathom Harp Ensemble on December 23.
Tamnak Prathom, built in 1919, was the first structure of the Phetchabun Palace (now CentralWorld), which belonged to Prince Chudadhuj. In 1984, His Majesty the King granted permission to move Tamnak Prathom to its present location in Nonthaburi. It was dismantled and reassembled according to its original plan by conservation architect Sunon Palakavongse na Ayudhya of the Fine Arts University, and was awarded its status as a heritage home by the Association of Siamese Architects in 1985. Entrance fees to the exhibition are 50 baht, while tickets to the gala opening and concert are 550 baht and 300 baht for the concert on December 23. For more information, call 02-261-4777/8, 02-261-6769 or 02-589-7173 ext 0.
bangkok post