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his own museum, housed in his spa, the lebua/Nicolie Wellness Center. At the spa, Normann displays four floors of rare Thai artifacts, which he has collected since his 1967 arrival in Thailand as a young apprentice of the East Asiatic Company, Thailand, an organization established by Danish traders in the late 19th century. The walls of Nicolie are lined with Normann���s treasures: porcelain court spoons, 19th century five color Benjarong rice bowls, Cambodian silver betel nut boxes, 14th and 15th century Sukhothai and Sawankhalok Buddha images and Chinese ivory acupuncture dolls, among others. But the objet d���art that takes the place of honor in the collection���s midst is a magnificent golden robe that gleams from its display cabinet on the second floor. A marvel of needlework, it consists of a brocade of gold sequins and threads sewn onto a delicate mesh. Look closely at the intricate designs and you will see several marine motifs��� an anchor, a ship���s steering wheel���intermingled with the floral patterns of the court robe. For this robe was custom made for a certain high-ranking naval officer in recognition of his contributions to the Royal Court of Siam, namely the country���s first and only foreign Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Navy, Vice Admiral Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu, also known by his Siamese honorific title, Phraya Colayuth Yothin. De Richelieu, a lieutenant in the Danish Royal Navy, arrived in Bangkok in 1875, bearing a private letter from King Christian IX of Denmark to King Chulalongkorn. Thus began an exceptional friendship between the two young HYLAND