Easy Exercises

Royal homecoming

While on his many trips abroad, King Chulalongkorn was known for giving exquisite gifts to royalties and dignitaries in the countries he visited. One such gift was a gold cigarette case that was recently returned to Thailand in time for the Chulalongkorn Memorial Day holiday. Read the following story from the �Bangkok Post� and work with a friend to answer the reading comprehension questions.

Photographs courtesy of Bangkok Post

Details of the gold cigarette case with the words �Given to me by The King of Siam August 6, 1897� inside.

A more than 100-year-old gold cigarette case that King Chulalongkorn gave to a British nobleman in 1897 has finally made its way home to Thailand.

The historic case was recently presented to the National Museum of Bangkok by the National Museum Volunteers. The volunteer group purchased the cigarette case from Jan Olav Aamlid, a Norwegian resident of Thailand who wished to have the cigarette case remain in the country for the posterity of the Thai people.

Miriam Jamieson, president of the National Museum Volunteers, explained that Aamlid, an avid coin collector, had attended an auction in Hong Kong hoping to add to his coin collection. He missed out on the coins, but succeeded in bidding for a series of gold items, one of which was this royal cigarette case.

The cigarette case is worth 1.4 million baht, and is made of gold with a design in the image of Matchanu, the son of the monkey general Hanuman and the mermaid Suphanamatcha, in the Ramakien epic.

A CLASSIC CASE

In the top left-hand corner of the case is the jor por ror emblem of King Chulalongkorn. Inside the case are the words �Given to me by the king of Siam, August 6, 1897.� The case is in a wood presentation box, the top of which is set with a silver plaque marked with the king�s jor por ror initials. This cigarette case was prepared for King Chulalongkorn�s first state visit to Europe in 1897.

It was presented by the King to Sir William Henry Pergrin Carington, equerry to Queen Victoria and assigned to accompany the King of Siam during his first visit to London from July 30 to August 6, 1897. In his diary of the royal visit, Phraya Sri Sorathip (Leng) noted that the King presented the cigarette case to Sir Carington on August 6, 1897 at Buckingham Palace. The cigarette case was later sold by Sir Carington�s family to an auction house in Hong Kong, where it was bought by Aamlid.

Questions

1. Who bought the cigarette case from Jan Olav Aamlid?

          a. Spink-Taisei auction house.

          b. The National Museum of Bangkok.

          c. The National Museum Volunteers.

2. What was Sir William Henry Pergrin Carington assigned to do?

3. Who appears on the cover of the cigarette case?

4. What was Aamlid doing in Hong Kong?

5. Why did Aamlid wish to have the cigarette case remain in Thailand?

Vocabulary

exquisite (adj): extremely beautiful or carefully made

dignitary (n): person who has an important official position

posterity (n): all the people who will live in the future

avid (adj): very enthusiastic about something

bid (v): to offer to pay a particular price for something, especially at an auction

emblem (n): a design or picture that represents a country or an organisation

equerry (n): a male officer who acts as an assistant to a member of a royal family