Tag Archives: 2561(2018)

Fine Arts Department frets over ‘illegal’ gold painting of numerous temples

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Fine Arts Department frets over ‘illegal’ gold painting of numerous temples

Art November 02, 2018 01:00

By PHATARAWADEE PHATARANAWIK
THE NATION

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IMMEDIATE ACTION is required to renovate the hundreds of historical temples painted in gold across the Kingdom, the Fine Arts Department said early this week.

“Unauthorised painting of ancient buildings and national treasures violates the law. We will require complicated technology and conservation experts to remove the paint and return the monuments back to their original glory,” Saneh Mahaphol, director of the Department of Conservation Science at the Fine Arts Department told The Nation.

Over the past few years, a group of Buddhists called “Puen Ruam Thang” (“Companion”) took it upon themselves to “renovate” historical temples by covering daubing gold paint provided by the TOA Paint Company on their faded-exteriors.

However, this triggered a controversy last week after a report on historical temples being repainted raised an uproar on social media, prompting the Culture Ministry’s Fine Arts Department to issue a warning last Wednesday. Consent from the Fine Arts Department is required before any historical monuments or sites in Thailand can be refurbished.

“All renovation plans have to be approved by the department first to be legal,” Anandha Chuchoti, the department’s director-general said.

Anandha has assigned chief archaeologists to check historical sites across the Kingdom and stop any unauthorised renovation work.

The volunteers have, so far, painted Wat Photaram and Wat Lao Thong in Suphan Buri, Wat Samosorn in Chai Nat, Wat Lai in Lop Buri and Wat Paknam Joro in Chachoengsao.

However, this controversy doesn’t seem to have dampened the group’s enthusiasm.

Puen Ruam Thang, led by veteran singer Suthep Prayoonpitak, told media last week that it had “renovated” more than 200 temples – including those registered as monuments – across the Kingdom and plan to continue doing so.

“After seeing the state of these old temples, we decided to donate money as well as our time and energy to bring back their beauty. We believe our ‘merit making’ will help preserve Buddhism as well as promote temples as tourism destinations for younger generations. We hope to continue making merit,” he said, adding that the painting had been done with the permission of the abbots. He also said that the group would be happy to discuss the issue with the Fine Arts Department.

TOA has also posted on Facebook that it will cooperate with all related agencies to solve this problem. The company claims its new acrylic paint, “TOA Gold”, contains high-quality gold pigment and it is being promoted with the motto “The Gold Colour of Faith: Preserve Temples for the Community”.

Meanwhile, Saneh admitted that the Fine Arts Department only has 20 experts and limited funds for the conservation of thousands of national monuments across the Kingdom.

“Painting can be done in a few weeks, while the cleaning process can take a few months,” he lamented.

Last year, Saneh and his team successfully cleaned the 400-year-old Buddha statue, “Luang Por Dam”, at Ayutthaya’s Wat Korokoso. Using conservation technology, the team spent a week removing two-layers of paint to reveal the lacquer and gold leaf on the statue.

“Painting old monuments will add moisture and cause damage. If we leave the paint to dry for a long time, the process of removing it will become too complicated. Professional conservators will need specific techniques depending on the age of the delicate antiques to clean them properly. This work cannot be done by just anybody,” Saneh added.

Meanwhile, Asst Professor Pipat Krajaejun of Thammasat University’s Liberal Arts Faculty said this conflict reflects a misunderstanding on the correct way of preserving our historical heritage.

“In capitalism, gold represents wealth, while in Buddhism it symbolises faith, so the group believes painting temples in gold is a way of making merit.

“This has become a trend because temples are becoming tourist destinations. Sadly, we are spending too much time working on Buddhist monuments, instead of practising and deeply understanding the core of Buddhism,” Pipat said.

However, both Saneh and Pipat agreed that educating people on correct renovation methods could help solve this problem sustainably.

Thailand hopefully to get back over 60 looted Thai artworks from overseas

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/art/30357617

  • Thailand is calling for return of from UK’s SOAS of the 13th-century Lopburi Buddha torso. Photo courtesy of Angela Chiu
  • Thailand is calling for the return from the US of a prominent 11th-century stone lintel from Prasat Khao Lon in Sa Kaew province. Photo courtesy of Culture Ministry
  • Thailand is calling for the return of 18 Buddha statues and sculptures in the collections of such top institutions as New York’s Metropolitan Art Museum and the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California, as well as the Asian Art Museum.

Thailand hopefully to get back over 60 looted Thai artworks from overseas

Art November 01, 2018 03:00

By PHATARAWADEE PHATARANAWIK
THE NATION

5,951 Viewed

THAILAND IS hoping to recover 60 looted Thai artifacts from overseas, the Culture Ministry announced yesterday.

Thailand calls for returns of 18 Buddha statues and sculptures in the collections of such top institutions as New York’s Metropolitan Art Museum and the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California, as well as the Asian Art Museum.

“The ministry’s ad hoc committee has called for the repatriation of dozens of artefacts that originated in Thailand from leading US museums and a UK museum,” Culture Minister Vira Rojpojchanarat said at a press conference at the National Library in Bangkok.

“After a one-year investigation aimed at bringing hundreds of looted Thai art pieces from the US, we are expecting to get back more that 60 heritage artworks in the near future,” he said.

Thailand calls for retruns of two 11th-century stone lintels, one from Prasat Nong Hong in Buri Ram, right, and the other from Prasat Khao Lon in Sa Kaew. They are currently in the permanent collection of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.

Vira said the Prayut Cha-o-cha government had called for the return of 705 looted artefacts from museums in the US and Australia.

Fine Art Department director Ananda Chuchoti said the pieces are expected to be coming home include two 11th-century stone lintels, one from Prasat Nong Hong in |Buri Ram and the other from Prasat Khao Lon in Sa Kaew. They are currently in the permanent collection of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.

Also anticipated are 18 Buddha statues and sculptures in the collections of such top institutions as New York’s Metropolitan Art Museum and the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California, as well as the Asian Art Museum.

“These masterpieces include an 8th-century bronze statue of the preaching Buddha called Avalokitesvara, taken from Prasat Hin Khao Bat II in Buri Ram,” archaeologist Tanongsak Hanwong, a member of the ad hoc ministry committee, told The Nation. “It is currently with the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York.”

Four other stone architectural artefacts taken from Buri Ram’s Prasart Panomrung and Nakhon Ratchasima’s Prasat Hin Pimai are also expected to return.

“More importantly,” said Tanongsak, “the government also determined that a 13-century Buddha statue now at London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies is Thai art and is in the process of calling for its return.”

Thailand is calling for return of from UK’s SOAS of  the 13th-century Lopburi Buddha torso. Photo courtesy of Angela Chiu

Ananda said the government was able to provide photographic and other verification of several artefacts’ origin to the US Department of Homeland Security as requested.

American collector Lisette Christiansen and Thai physician Santi Viboonmongkol, who both keep collections in the US, intend to return 38 prehistoric artefacts, including Baan Chiang pottery, to the government.

An island all your own

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  • Pad Thai Chaiya
  • All-day dining restaurant Hue at the new Cape Fahn Hotel offers southern-style favourites with authentic taste. /courtesy of Cape Fahn
  • Kanom Jeen Bai Chaplu Phu Talay
  • Pla Tod Khamin

An island all your own

tasty November 03, 2018 01:00

By Khetsirin Pholdhampalit
The Nation Weekend

2,164 Viewed

Koh Fahn just off the Samui shore entirely belongs to the Cape Fahn resort and its wonderful restaurant

DESPITE BEING open just two months, Cape Fahn – a new luxury property on the small private island of Fahn off Koh Samui – is becoming a major draw. Its beautiful scenery and promise of intimacy with nature has made it a top wedding destination, with popular actress Jennie Tienposuwan sharing her romantic pictures online.

Only by a 300-metre-wide strait separates Koh Fahn from Samui’s peaceful Choeng Mon Beach. You can get across in five minutes by boat or simply walk over at low tide.

Cape Fahn, run by Cape & Kantary Hotels, occupies the entire 15-rai island, ensuring that it’s as exclusive as can be with its 22 one- and two-bedroom pool villas.

All-day dining restaurant Hue at the new Cape Fahn Hotel offers southern-style favourites with authentic taste.

In addition to stunning panoramic vistas of the Gulf and wonderful accommodations, the resort has a beachfront-poolside restaurant called Hue – named not for the Vietnamese city but for the Thai word for “hungry”. There can be little else as romantic as a private four-course dinner there on the beach as the sun sets in magnificent fashion.

A private four-course dinner by sunset on the beach is guaranteed to leave romantic memories.

Appetisers come in a choice between a platter of a trio of Thai or Western appetisers, followed by seafood stew. The main course entail “surf & turf”, including tiger prawns, lobster, snapper, T-bone steak and the Green & Red Salad of strawberry, watermelon, local greens, cashew nuts and Thai basil dressing.

A fine ending can be either dessert of the day or passion-fruit pavlova followed by coffee or tea with petit fours.

All of this costs Bt7,900 for two, including a bottle of sparkling wine.

Hue is open all day and 90 per cent of the menu is authentic southern-style street food.

Gaeng Lueang Nor Mai Dong Pla Grapong

You can expect to try regional favourites like Sataw Pad Gapi Goong (stir-fried stink beans with shrimp and shrimp paste), Gaeng Lueang Nor Mai Dong (hot and sour soup with bamboo shoots) and Kua Kling Nuea (spicy dried and minced beef curry).

“Most of the ingredients come from Samui – great seafood and tasty sataw [stink beans] and gapi [shrimp paste],” says sous chef Aekkaparb Songsen, a Nakhon Si Thammarat native.

“We don’t serve tom yum goong because you can get that at any restaurants, but we have Pad Thai Chaiya [named after Chaiya district in Surat Thani], which tastes quite different from Central region pad thai.”

Pad Thai Chaiya

Samui natives call Pad Thai Chaiya (Bt295) mee pad kati – stir-fried rice noodles with coconut milk. The sauce is a blend of dried red bell peppers, tamarind paste and coconut milk.

“The noodles are thoroughly stir-fried with the sauce until almost all the sauce is absorbed, making the noodles very soft,” says Aekkaparb. “They’re served with tiger prawns and on the side crushed peanuts, bean sprouts, cucumber and a slice of lemon.”

If Sataw Pad Gapi Goong (Bt320) sounds like it might leave you with bad breath, Aekkaparb explains that all you need to do is follow it up with fresh makhuea proh (Thai eggplant).

Sataw Pad Gapi Goong 

The stink beans are perfectly stir-fried with chillies and aromatic shrimp paste. Pickled garlic and shallot are added to tone down the saltiness of the paste, and the result is a pungent and flavourful dish.

“We found a good shrimp paste here,” says the sous chef, “with the tiny shrimp pounded with sea salt and sun-dried more than five times, making it very aromatic and flavourful. The sataw is also now available year-round.”

Kanom Jeen Bai Chaplu Phu Talay 

Kanom Jeen Bai Chaplu Phu Talay (Bt395) is also the real deal thanks to the strong flavour of yellow curry cooked with chaplu leaves and the meat of mud crabs. It’s best with rice vermicelli and fresh seasonal vegetables.

Pla Tod Khamin 

Tone down the spiciness with Pla Tod Khamin (Bt890). It’s a whole sea bass marinated with turmeric and fish sauce and deep fried. For easy eating, it’s cut into fillets and served atop fried and julienned lemongrass.

Gai Golae 

Also worth trying is Gai Golae (Bt390) – a char-grilled half chicken marinated in coconut milk and curry that’s made from dried bell peppers, palm sugar and fish sauce. After a perfect grilling, the sauce is also generously poured over the chicken, cloaking in the moistness. This is served with tamarind sauce.

Khao Mok Gai Baan Don 

Khao Mok Gai Baan Don (Bt330) is a Thai-style biryani rice with chicken and the rice is fragrant and perfectly cooked – neither dry nor moist. The chicken is well seasoned and tender and tossed with fried shallots.

The restaurant also offers a selection of comfort Western fare such as salads, burgers, pizzas, pastas and steaks.

Samui Burger

The Samui Burger (Bt375) is a chunk of grilled salmon on a bed of asparagus, cream, lemon, dill, Parmesan cheese and sun-dried tomato. Cappelini con Bottarga (Bt520) is angel-hair pasta simply cooked with bottarga and olive oil for a slightly salty taste.

Cappelini con Bottarga

The Mixed Seafood Pizza (Bt450) is thin crust with tomato puree, mozzarella and assorted seafood and irresistible when it arrives fresh from the oven.

Kanom Pim I-Tim Mapraw

The meal can end with Thai-style Waffle with Coconut Ice Cream (Bt250).

“Southern people call this kanom pim because it’s baked in a mould – pim in Thai,” says Aekkaparb. “The texture is not truly Western but softer because the flour dough is mixed with coconut milk, grated coconut, egg, salt and sugar. The locals normally eat this in the morning with a cup of coffee. At Hue, we serve it with coconut ice cream so it’s more like a Western-style presentation.”

SAY HELLO TO HUE

Hue is at the Cape Fahn Hotel on the Koh Samui shore and is open daily from 11am to 10.30pm.

Call (077) 602 301-2 or visit http://www.CapeFahnHotel.com.

First moon walk’s commemorative plaque sold for $468,500

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/lifestyle/30357879

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First moon walk’s commemorative plaque sold for $468,500

Breaking News November 05, 2018 06:58

By Agence France-Presse
New York

A commemorative plaque brought to the moon on the Apollo 11 mission went under the hammer for $468,500 in Texas, as part of a huge collection that once belonged to late astronaut Neil Armstrong, auctioneers said.

The plaque includes a representation of the lunar module that touched down on the moon on July 20, 1969.

Once back on Earth, it was mounted on a wooden base before being offered to Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon.

The other two astronauts who took part in the mission, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins, also each received one of these plaques.

Armstrong’s two sons, Rick and Mark, decided to part with some of the very large collection of their father, who died in 2012. It includes more than 2,000 objects.

Just part of the collection was offered at the sale held Thursday through Saturday in Dallas as well as online.

Another two sales are planned in May and November 2019 by Heritage Auction, which organized the first.

The souvenir plaque did better than the lot that was expected as the highlight of the sale, an American flag taken during the trip to the moon, but never deployed on site.

Larger than most flags brought into space (45 by 29 centimeters, or 18 by 11 inches), it was sold for $275,000, including fees and commissions.

That’s more than triple Heritage’s estimate of $75,000.

Among Armstrong’s collection were two batches of fragments of the Wright brothers’ plane, whose first flight, in December 1903, is considered modern aviation’s maiden voyage.

These pieces were taken by Armstrong on the Apollo 11 mission and thus have a double historical value. They each sold for $275,000, or nine times the original estimate.

In all, the first part of the Armstrong collection selloff has earned $5.2 million, Heritage Auctions said in a statement.

French poet’s suicide letter goes under hammer

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/lifestyle/30357878

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French poet’s suicide letter goes under hammer

Breaking News November 05, 2018 06:54

By Agence France-Presse
Paris

A letter written by nineteenth century French poet Charles Baudelaire announcing his intention to kill himself sold at auction on Sunday for 234,000 euros ($267,000), three times the expected price.

Best known for his collection of poems “Les Fleurs du mal” (The Flowers of Evil”), Baudelaire was 24 at the time he wrote the letter to his mistress Jeanne Duval in June 1845.

It was bought by a private collector, the Osenat auction house said.

“When you receive this letter I will be dead…. I am killing myself because I cannot carry on living, I can no longer endure the ordeal of falling asleep or waking up again,” the poet wrote.

Baudelaire stabbed himself but failed to do any serious damage and lived for another 22 years.

Why the Nokia 6.1 Plus gets the nod

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Why the Nokia 6.1 Plus gets the nod

lifestyle November 03, 2018 01:00

By Paisal Chuenprasaeng
The Nation Weekend

‘Plus’ is the operative word for a phone piling on the bells and whistles, all for under Bt9,000

IF YOU’RE looking for a phone that meets your needs and looks good but won’t break the bank, you’ll probably be interested in the Nokia 6.1 Plus from HMD Global.

A sleek and capable smartphone, the Nokia 6.1 Plus has a strong aluminium body with glass cover at the back to add a glossy look.

Although its body is more compact than sleek, the smartphone comes with a large 5.8-inch display with high resolution of 1080×2280 pixels in 19:9 display ratio. And the display is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

The high-res display is bright making the phone a good device for viewing photos and watching HD movies, such as those provided by TrueID TV app and iflix app. During the test, I enjoyed watching movies from these two apps.

And although Nokia 6.1 plus is not powered by a superfast flagship CPU, it is still capable and has all the attributes you expect of a good smartphone.

It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon octa-core processor running at 1.8 GHz and equipped with 4 gigabytes of working memory or RAM. It uses 64 GB e-MMC 5.1 storage, which is expandable by a microSD card by up to 400GB. It runs on latest Android 8.1.0 operating system.

During the test, I didn’t feel that its touch screen and menus were lagging but instead found them responsive.

The Nokia 6.1 Plus supports 4G LTE Cat 4 data connection. I tested it on TrueMove H’s LTE network and the connection was fast.

I used Ookla Speedtest app to measure the speed and found that it achieved a download speed of 54 Mbps and upload speed of 29.8 Mbps.

Moreover, Nokia 6.1 Plus has fast Wi-Fi 802.11ac connection and the latest Bluetooth 5.0 connection.

The cameras are good too, and it uses a dual system for the rear camera for creating bokeh effect.

The rear camera has a 16MP sensor with f/2.0 lens and 5MP black-and-white sensor with f/2.4 lens. The 5MP camera is used for providing data for creating the blurred background or bokeh effect.

To capture outstanding portraits with bokeh effect, you must use the Live Bokeh mode, which provide a slide bar to adjust the level of blurring.

There is also auto mode, which is called Photo mode. Here you can use the dual-sight Bothie function in which the camera uses both rear and front lenses to capture photos from both sides at the same time.

You can have both front and rear cameras capture photos that are stacked– the front camera at the bottom and rear camera at the top, assuming you are shooting in vertical format. The rear camera will appear on the left and the front camera at the right in horizontal shots.

The Bothie function can also be applied to video shooting.

The Nokia 6.1 Plus also comes with 16MP f/2.0 front camera for selfies.

I found the cameras captured good quality photos when there was enough light. The bokeh effect could be achieved easily with pleasing results.

Nokia 6.1 Plus comes with fingerprint reader for securely unlocking your phone. It also supports face unlocking. I tried both features and they worked well.

The phone is available in three colour options – Gloss Black, Gloss White and Gloss Midnight Blue – and retails for Bt8,990.

Key Specs

Network: LTE Cat 4, |WCDMA, GSM

OS: Android Oreo 8.1

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 octa-core 1.8 GHz

Memory: 4GB LPDDR4

Storage; 64GB eMMC 5.1

Display: 5.86-inch IPS display with 1080×2280 pixels, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3

Cameras: Rear: Dual Main: |16 MP AF, f2.0, Dual second: |5 MP, BW/FF/f2.4; Front: |16 MP, f2.0

Wireless connectivity: WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac; Bluetooth 5.0; GPS/AGPS+GLONASS

Sensors: Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer (G-sensor), |E-compass, Gyroscope, Fingerprint Sensor (on the back)

Battery: 3060 mAh

Dimensions: 147.2 x 70.98 x 7.99mm

Weight: 151g

A treasure of Rama V

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ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/lifestyle/30357783

  • The varieties of batik designs in shades and motifs reflect multicultural societies of Java’s north coast and west.
  • The batik collection of King Chulalongkorn from the central Javanese principalities of Yogyakarta and Surakarta allures with distinctive shades of blue and brown and even some “forbidden motifs” reserved for the nobility.

A treasure of Rama V

lifestyle November 03, 2018 01:00

By Khetsirin Pholdhampalit
The Nation Weekend

2,815 Viewed

The batik collected in Java by King Chulalongkorn goes on public view for the first time

KING CHUALONGKORN returned from each of his three visits to Java between 1871 and 1901 with warmer bonds to the Dutch who controlled the land that became Indonesia – and also with 307 samples of batik redolent with imagery of Javanese culture.

Now that private collection of King Rama V, which has been stored in the Treasury of the Inner Court of the Grand Palace since his death in 1910, is being publicly displayed for the first time.

The exhibition “A Royal Treasure: The Javanese Batik Collection of King Chulalongkorn of Siam” will remain on view at the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles until the spring of 2021.

The batik collection of King Chulalongkorn from the central Javanese principalities of Yogyakarta and Surakarta allures with distinctive shades of blue and brown and even some “forbidden motifs” reserved for the nobility.

Space limitations mean the displays will be rotated throughout the course of the exhibition. To begin with, there are 37 pieces to see, including sarung, a short, tubular hip wrap; kain panjang, a longer hip wrap; ikat kepala, a head cloth; and examples of batik patterns called contoh pola.

Museum curator Sarttarat Muddin says the facility received permission from His Majesty the late King Bhumibol in 2014 “to research and exhibit this extraordinary collection”.

“It took almost four years to do the research and prepare the show because batik is not our typical textile and the patterns in this collection are quite different from what Thais wear in the South,” she says.

The varieties of batik designs in shades and motifs reflect multicultural societies of Java’s north coast and west.

Sarttarat and co-curator Dale Carolyn Gluckman visited Indonesia several times to meet experts at the Jakarta Textile Museum and also went to the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam to see its trove, which is believed to have originated at the same workshop in Yogyakarta where much of the royal collection was produced.

King Chulalongkorn was only 18 when he made his first and only official visit to Java in 1871 – the first time a reigning Siamese monarch had ventured outside the country. He was exploring ways to modernise Siam with Western innovations, such as the railway connecting Batavia (present-day Jakarta) with Semarang in Java.

He spent 15 days visiting both these places. Semarang was an international trading port where Carolina Josephina von Franquemont ran a batik atelier that produced hybrid designs with geometric shapes in vertical panels and pictorial subjects that became standard features of coastal batik. The King returned with five samples.

Sarttarat points out the Garden of Eden imagery with grapevines and a snake on a tree branch, a Chinese butterfly motif signifying longevity and love, and a centipede symbolising protection.

The batiks from Carolina Josephina von Franquemont workshop in Semarang 

King Chulalongkorn’s returns to Java in 1896 and 1901 were unofficial visits. On the earlier stay, convalescing after an illness, he toured Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Cirebon, Indramayu and Garut among other cities, producing the memoir “A Journey of Over Two Months to Java”.

“There is no better way to recover than going to a new, peaceful place away from problems,” he wrote. “It was a good opportunity to make new friends because Java is like visiting a neighbour. Social contact is good for both countries.”

It’s presumed he acquired at Banyamas in Central Java two pieces of batik in deep red and dark blue, from the workshop of Catharina Carolina van Oosterom, which feature more geometric shapes along with jamblang fruit and Art Nouveau motifs.

Two pieces from Banyamas are deep red and dark blue, with patterns incorporating geometric shapes, jamblang fruit and Art Nouveau motifs.

A batik sample from Lasem, also in central Java, boasts a unique red hue and patterns heavily influenced by Chinese culture, the town having been the landing point for Java’s first ethnic Chinese settlers.

Sarttarat notes the tigers, a phoenix, a unicorn with a dragon’s head and a lantern within the pattern and the Western lace-like effect along the bottom.

“The distinctive red dye comes from rak yor [the root of Morinda citrifolia] and from the minerals in the water only found in Lasem,” she says.

A batik from Lasem presents Chinese landscape of plants and birds and butterflies in great delicacy.

Pekalongan on the north coast had workshops producing batik in different styles, this being a melting pot of Javanese, Chinese, European and Muslim settlers. King Chulalongkorn didn’t visit Lasem or Pekalongan but probably acquired samples of their art in the city of Bandung.

Sarttarat explains that AJF Jans, the Dutch owner of a workshop in Pekalongan, was among the first to sign batik and the royal collection has several pastel-coloured batiks marked “J Jans”, mingling Western notions such as floral bouquets, bows, cupids and wreaths.

The batik designs from Pekalongan and Garut reflects muticultural societies.

Garut in West Java was famous for gumading, a pale-yellow ground colour, that is said to resemble the flesh of an almost ripe mango and the design elements such as garuda’s wing reflects the influence of central Javanese courts.

Batiks from Surakarta were typically yellow-brown or dark blue with tiny motifs, while those from Yogyakarta were predominantly chocolate brown or lighter blue.

Favourite motifs in the Surakarta court were elephants representing royal power andsemen – stylised flora and fauna – a name derived from semi, meaning “to sprout” or “grow”. In Yogyakarta, bolder geometric patterns were preferred, as were designs inspired by Hindu cosmology – phra sumeru, garuda and naga.

Batiks from Surakarta were characterised by yellow-brown and dark blue.

“The designs also reflect the long and complex cultural and political history of Java,” says Sarttarat. “There were forbidden motifs that were exclusively reserved for the nobility, such as udan liris and parang rusak [a sword-like pattern].”

The royal collection has 43 pieces from Yogyakarta produced by the Lawick van Pabst studio His Majesty visited in 1896 and again in 1901. The pieces are technically superb, with crisp patterns drawn in wax on both sides of the cloth and with exceptionally deep yet bright natural indigo and warm saga brown.

Some of the batiks brought back were tagged in Thai, English and sometimes Dutch, indicating the origin, pattern name, price and function. Some are hand-signed “W v Lawick v Pabst”.

The royal collection has 43 pieces of Yogyakarta batik produced by the famous Lawick van Pabst atelier, which His Majesty visited in 1896 and again in 1901.

Shortly after the King’s 1896 visit, the Dutch government asked Pabst to create 175 patterns for the Dutch colonial pavilion at the 1900 Paris World Exhibition. Most of these are now stored at the Tropenmuseum.

“We went to Amsterdam to compare our Pabst pieces with those of the museum and found its sampling size to be 100×100 centimetres, whereas most of ours are sarung and kain panjang ranging from 100 to nearly 300cm, with full patterns that are extremely valuable,” says Sarttarat.

The exhibitions includes videos made from vintage films, including the state visits of King Prajadhipok in 1929 and Their Majesties King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit in 1960. One kain panjan batik even features a “Sirikit pattern” – named for the Queen.

The Sirikit batik pattern from Yogyakarta was named to honour Her Majesty Queen Sirikit during her state visit with His Majesty King Bhumibol in 1960.

“President Sukarno asked an artisan to create a highly crafted batik with special pattern dedicated to the Queen and presented it to her as a gift,” Sarttarat explains. “The floral pattern probably represents the beauty of the Queen and it’s now one of the batik designs available on the market. What we have on display isn’t the one presented to the Queen – we received this one from the Sekar Jaged Batik Association of Yogyakarta.”

Visitors can try on Javanese costumes in varied batik patterns.

Visitors to the exhibition can also get hands-on with batik, take selfies in front of a photographic display of the seven cities where King Chulalongkorn’s batiks originated, and try on various Javanese batik costumes.

A WHIRLWIND OF PATTERNS

“A Royal Treasure: The Javanese Batik Collection of King Chulalongkorn of Siam” continues until May 2021 at the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles within the Grand Palace compound in Bangkok.

It’s open daily from 9am to 4.30pm.

Respectful attire is required – no shorts or flip-flops.

Admission is Bt150 (Bt80 for seniors, Bt50 for students and ages 12 to 18, free for younger children).

For details, call (02) 225 9420 or visit http://www.QSMTThailand.org.

Multitasking made easy

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Multitasking made easy

lifestyle November 03, 2018 01:00

By Paisal Chuenprasaeng
The Nation Weekend

The new Galaxy Tab from Samsung turns into a notebook and a desktop computer with one easy connection

A POWERFUL 10.5-inch tablet computer, the new Galaxy Tab S4 from Samsung enhances productivity thanks to the S Pen stylus and the possibility to turn it into a desktop or notebook computer by attaching the optional adapter.

The Tab S4 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor with four cores running at 2.35 GHz and four others at 1.9 GHz.

It is equipped with four gigabytes of working memory or RAM and 64 GB storage that is expandable by microSD card up to 400GB.

The tablet uses a USB 3.1 (Type C) port with fast data connection and comes equipped with Samsung DeX, a native application that allows you to use a smartphone or tablet on a desktop like interface with an optional accessory.

Samsung says the Tab S4 is its first tablet to come with Samsung DeX technology. You can buy an optional Book Cover keyboard to turn the Tab S4 into a notebook and use the tablet’s special connector to install it. Another option is to use a DeX Cable to connect the Tab S4 to a large monitor, connect a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard and use the Tab S4 as a desktop computer.

With Samsung DeX, you can open multiple desktop-style windows for your Android apps, including the Microsoft Office suite directly on the Galaxy Tab S4, and re-size them as needed. Just drag and drop content between apps and use keyboard shortcuts and commands for efficiency.

When connected to an external monitor using the USB-C and an HDMI multiport adapter, the Galaxy Tab S4 can serve as a track pad or a sketch pad, and new this year, the Galaxy Tab S4 can also continue to work as a fully functional Android tablet, giving users two screens to accomplish tasks.

I found Tab S4 had good performance. The menus and touchscreen were responsive and apps ran fast and smooth.

I benchmarked its Tab S4 with AnTuTu Benchmark V7.1.0 to measure it performance and it got a high score of 203, 448 points.

The Tab S4 also has fast Internet connection. I tested it with TrueMove H’s LTE 4G network and I found the connection was very fast. I used Ookla Speedtest app to measure the connection speed and wasn’t surprised when it reported a download speed of 70.0 Mbps and upload speed of 38.1 Mbps.

Galaxy Tab S4 comes with S Pen stylus to meet all your needs and is a great way to express your creativity and communicate. You can use the stylus to take notes on the fly through the Screen-Off Memo feature, as well as navigate, translate and organise notes through Samsung Note. You can also send personalised texts through Samsung Live Message with the S Pen.

If you click the button of the S Pen above the display, the Air command menu pops up to allow you to start working with the stylus. You can create a note, view all notes, write on the screen, and create a Live message, for example.

You can also use the S Pen to capture part of your screen for sharing. And when you use the Screen write function, the Tab S4 will capture the screen for you to write or draw and even crop an area.

The Tab S4 comes with a beautiful display that has narrower bezels compared to its predecessor, the S3. It has a large 10.5-inch display with Super AMOLED technology, as well as a 16:10 screen ratio with 2560×1600, 287 pixels per inch (PPI) resolution for vivid picture detail and true-to-life visuals.

The display is great for viewing photos and for watching HD videos. During the test, I enjoyed watching new movies via TrueVisions TrueID TV app and the iflix app.

The movies also sounded exciting and immersive thanks to the Tab S4’s four speakers tuned by AKG and Dolby Atmos immersive sound technology, With Dolby Atmos, the Galaxy Tab S4 supports crisper dialogue, enveloping sound fields, maximised loudness without distortion, and consistent playback volume.

The Tab S4 also supports the Samsung Flow app that allows you to easily connect your tablet to your Samsung smartphone and use them conveniently, for checking notifications or sharing contents.

You simply install Samsung Flow on both S4 and your Samsung smartphone and connect them.

The Tab S4 also has good security features with both Face Recognition and Iris Scanner to unlock the device. You can also use the Intelligent Scan function that registers both your face and irises to unlock the phone more conveniently and securely. I found that this function worked effectively.

The Tab S4 also has good quality camera. Its rear camera has 13-megapixel resolution and front camera 8-MP resolution.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 has a suggested retail price of Bt23,900.

Key Specs

Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Octa Core (2.35GHz + 1.9GHz)

LTE Support: LTE Cat.16 DLCA, 4X4 MIMO

Memory: 4GB

Storage: 64GB, microSD up to 400GB[4]

Camera: 13MP AF + 8.0MP, Flash

Port: USB3.1 (Type C), keyboard connector

Sensors: Accelerometer, Compass, Gyroscope, RGB, Proximity, Iris Scanner, Hall Sensor

Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, MIMO, |Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 5.0

GPS: GPS + GLONASS, BEIDOU, GALILEO

Dimension: 249.3 x 164.3 x 7.1mm

Weight 483g

Battery: 7,300mAh,|Fast Charging

OS: Android 8.1

Accessories: S Pen (included)

Video: Recording: UHD 4K (3840×2160) @ 30fps; Playback: UHD 4K (3840×2160) @ 60fps

Audio: 4 speakers tuned by AKG, Dolby Atmos

Run for your (longer) life: the French octogenarian addicted to marathons

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/lifestyle/30357748

French marathoner Ginette Bedard, 85, runs near her home in the Queens Borough of New York on November 1, 2018. - Bedard plans to run in this year's NYC Marathon scheduled to take place November 4, 2018. (Photo by Don EMMERT / AFP)
French marathoner Ginette Bedard, 85, runs near her home in the Queens Borough of New York on November 1, 2018. – Bedard plans to run in this year’s NYC Marathon scheduled to take place November 4, 2018. (Photo by Don EMMERT / AFP)

Run for your (longer) life: the French octogenarian addicted to marathons

lifestyle November 02, 2018 12:56

By Agence France-Presse
New York

2,253 Viewed

She runs three hours a day, 365 days a year — but don’t get her started on diets or supplements.

For 85-year-old Ginette Bedard, staying on her feet has been an essential part of her long life, and it has kept the loneliness of her later years at bay.

When she runs her 16th New York City Marathon this Sunday, Bedard, who was born in France, will be the oldest woman in the field — and perhaps one of the few to admit she doesn’t mind indulging in a little wine, cheese and ice cream even in the runup to race day.

“I don’t need any special preparation, because I run every day for three hours, and I’m always ready,” says the slightly built woman with a big blonde hairdo, firing off her words like a machine gun as she sits in her office, filled with her medals.

“It’s an addiction, a habit, and that’s all,” she adds. “I have plenty of time, I’m retired, my husband is no longer around. What do I do? So I run, it passes the time.”

She is not alone as an older runner.

As average lifespans continue to grow in developed countries and running becomes more and more popular, there is a higher number of both octogenarians and even nonagenarians competing in marathons than ever before.

Every morning, Bedard makes her way to the beach, just a stone’s throw from her house in the Queen’s borough of New York.

She never listens to music or podcasts while running. “I don’t want anything in my ears,” she emphasizes. “I just think — about my youth, my life in France, America, a bit about everything — bills, money!”

Come rain, shine or snowfall, Bedard, who was born in Metz and emigrated to New York in the 1970s, before becoming a US citizen 20 years ago, runs 20 kilometers (12 miles) daily.

This week is no exception — contrary to the advice given by experts nowadays who suggest less exertion in the lead-up to a long run.

“My body tells me what I need to do,” she says. “I listen to it.”

Nor does she believe in special diets, describing them as “expensive and phoney.”

“I believe in everything in its place,” she says. “A bit of wine, a bit of cheese, a bit of ice cream. Everything in proportion.”

– “Quelle euphorie!” –

On Sunday, Bedard, who began her distance running career at the tender age of 69, will be aiming to beat her personal best of 3 hours, 46 minutes, which she set at age 72 in 2005.

At the time, it was a new world record for her age category, but has been bested since.

“I feel young, both physically and in my heart, as if I was still 20 years old,” she says. “I can still wear the bikini I had when I was 16.”

Bedard used to run with her husband or her sister — but no longer has a running partner her age.

No matter, she insists. “I like being alone now,” she said, adding that she doesn’t think others her age can keep up.

“Not everyone has this desire, this enthusiasm, discipline and drive,” says the former Alitalia employee who during her working days woke up every morning at 3:30 am to go running before waking her two children, then heading in to work.

Despite her fierce independence, she admits that she does at times feel lonely following the death of her husband four years ago.

“I wouldn’t mind having a boyfriend,” she says, “but all the men my age are old fogeys, and the younger ones are married. So there’s nothing for me.”

Resignation and weariness are not words in Bedard’s vocabulary, however. And she has her eyes firmly set on Sunday’s finish line. “When you cross the line and get your medal — thank you, God! What a feeling.”

Actress Pancake launches beauty line

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Actress Pancake launches beauty line

lifestyle November 02, 2018 01:00

By THE NATION

Leading actress, Khemanit “Pancake” Jamikorn has gone into the cosmetics recently introduced her first product Pansy Powder, described as an “Ultra Flawless Compact Foundation Luminous Matt Powder”.

Pansy aims to fit into today’s beauty industry by bringing innovations that match the urban lifestyle.

 

Pancake, who’s the managing director of Jamikorn Group, hosted the line’s launch recently on the concept “Bellissimo de Lusso” that reflected the product’s Italian roots, its premium ingredients and internationally accepted manufacturing technologies.

 

“We believe that the definition of beauty in this age comes with quality. For our beauty brand Pansy, we have carefully searched for the perfect manufacturer and selected Gi Picco’s Cosmetics factory in Italy, which meets international premium brand standards,” she says.

 

The light compact foundation powder offers high definition powder molecules with a light and velvety smooth texture that can be retouched throughout the day along with oilcontrol and sweat resistant properties as well as UV protection for bright glowing skin.

The formula is suitable for all skin types including sensitive skin and is available in 2 oriental shades, 01 pink and 02 yellow.

The Pansy brand will be launching more products in the near future. To order and to find out more, check on Facebook: Pansy Official, IG: pansy.official, Line: @pansyth, or call (092) 263 2965.