Great and Good Friends: Celebrating 200 Years of U.S.-Thai Relations

(L-R) Meridian’s Vice President of Cultural Programs Terry Harvey, Curator William Bradford Smith, Ambassador Glyn Davies, Curator Trevor Merrion, and Meridian’s Director of Cultural Programs Lindsay Amini at the exhibition gala.

Great and Good Friends: Historic Gifts between the Kingdom of Thailand and the United States of America, 1818-2018

In commemoration of 200 years of friendship between the United States and the Kingdom of Thailand, the Meridian Center for Cultural Diplomacy, in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, organized an exhibition at the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles displaying the official gifts exchanged between the two nations at significant moments over the past 200 years.

The exhibition will be the marquee event to celebrate the bicentennial of U.S.-Thai relations.  It opened March 21, 2018 and will run through June 30, 2018.

Great and Good Friends underscores the significant bilateral ties - in trade, education, health, and people-to-people exchange—that helped established Thailand as America’s oldest treaty ally in the region. The exhibition will feature royal gifts from Their Majesties King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit, King Prajadhipok, King Chulalongkorn, and King Mongkut to and from respective American presidents. Most of these gifts have never been seen by the public, and many will be displayed in Thailand for the first time. The gifts tell a story of two worlds uniting on the basis of goodwill and understanding. The exhibition represents unprecedented cooperation between leading Thai and American cultural institutions, including contributions from the Smithsonian Institution, the National Archives and Records Administration and its presidential libraries, the Library of Congress, King Prajadhipok’s Institute, the National Museum Bangkok, the Thai Department of Fine Arts, and the Thai Film Archive.

Chalong Phra Ong Khrui (Ceremonial Gold Robe) Gift from Prince Wan Waithayakon to the Smithsonian Institution, 1947
Visitors admire gold nielloware given by King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit to U.S. presidents
The objects on display in Great and Good Friends are on loan from the Smithsonian Institution, the National Archives and Records Administration and its presidential libraries, and the Library of Congress.
29496148_1776221149065686_6695809273789677568_o
Great and Good Friends


Visit Exhibition Website

Project Timeline

April 18, 2018Washington Diplomat: Bangkok Exhibit Celebrates 200 Years of U.S.-Thailand Friendship
April 4, 2018Spring News’ World Focus, The U.S.-Thailand Celebrates 200 Years of Friendship.
April 4, 2018Channel 3’s Lok Yaam Chao (Morning World News), U.S. Ambassador Led the Great and Good Friends Exhibition Tour
March 29, 2018Nation TV’s Miti Lok (World Dimension) report on the Great and Good Friends exhibition, featuring an interview with Ambassador Davies and curator Trevor Merrion. (NTV)
March 29, 2018Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand press release on Great and Good Friends exhibition
March 26, 2018ABC News: Lincoln to Thai king: Thanks but no thanks for the elephants
March 24, 2018Fox News: Lincoln to Thai king: Thanks but no thanks for the elephants
March 23, 2018U.S. Ambassador Glyn T. Davies Announces Exhibition of Friendship: Great and Good Friends
March 23, 2018MCOT’s Thai News Agency aired a Facebook Live session from the exhibit. The session included an interview with Ambassador Davies and a tour of the museum.
March 23, 2018Spring News also aired a Facebook Live session from the exhibit. The session included an interview with curator Trevor Merrion as he led a tour of the exhibit.
March 23, 2018Spring News aired a report on the Great and Good Friends Exhibit.
March 23, 2018Channel 3 aired a report on the Great and Good Friends Exhibit: U.S. Embassy Displays Gifts of 200-Years Friendship
March 23, 2018News@Meridian | March 2018

Project summary

Great and Good Friends: Celebrating 200 Years of U.S.-Thai Relations | June 2018
Regions: East Asia and Pacific
Countries: United States, Thailand
Impact Areas: Cultural Diplomacy
Program Areas: Culture
Partners: Diplomatic Corps, Private Sector, Public Sector
  See Program Page