From Dusty Cobwebbed Piles to Golden
Jewel: 8 Years of Transformation of the Luang Prabang Palace Museum
Vanpheng Keophannha
Deputy Director
Royal Palace National Museum
Luang Prabang
Lao PDR
Abstract:
This is a first person story. I was hired by the Luang Prabang Department of
Information and Culture in 1997 as an assistant collections manager of the Luang
Prabang National Museum. In the late 1980s the Lao government decided to develop
its tourism sector, but when I walked into the Museum for the first time in
1997, little had been done to develop the building as a Museum since 1976. The
total professional staff at that time was 3, a Director, a Deputy Director, and
me. As the first person with a background in museology to work in the Museum, I
experienced a range of initial overwhelming impressions-- from the complexity of
the job from registration to preservation; to the dust that needed to be cleaned
off every surface from glassware to thrones; to the exhibitry the needed to be
developed to explain the time and meaning of this building and its contents to
the modern world. Over the past 8 years I have encountered problems ranging from
how to develop a modern registration system without computers; to preservation
of delicate materials such as royal silk clothing or old photographs and
negatives without a conservation department. Fortunately, I have had several
opportunities for additional training in collections management and textile
conservation. My paper will detail the steps and challenges I have encountered
in bringing the Palace from abandoned residence to a National Museum in a World
Heritage Town.