Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [39]
Most statues are finely painted to sharply define the facial features, which are individualised for each figure. Many religious statues in lhakhangs, especially the larger statues, are made from unfired clay. In addition to the face, the entire surface of these large figures is painted, often in a gold colour, giving them a bronze aspect. Examples of these statues can be seen in Punakha dzong. On bronze statues, some of which are quite small, only the face is painted.
The focus for the contemporary art scene is the Volunteer Artist Studio in Thimphu (VAST), a voluntary organisation that provides art classes to young Bhutanese, which seeks to combine traditional styles with western art techniques and subjects. In Paro, the local artist Chime Dorji has opened the Vajrayana Art Gallery.
Textiles
Weaving, more than the other Zorig Chusum, is the most distinctive and sophisticated of the arts and crafts. The richness of this art form can be seen at the permanent exhibition in the National Textile Museum in Thimphu. Everyday articles such as clothing, wrappers for goods, and cushion covers are stitched from cloth woven at home. Until the mid-20th century, certain taxes were paid in cloth and collected at the regional dzong. The authorities distributed the cloth as ‘payment’ to monastic and civil officials and to monasteries. Until quite recently, it was common to present cloth as a gift to mark special occasions or promotions. Bhutanese women still have trunks filled with fine fabrics which may be sold when money is required.
Although some men do practice weaving, the majority of weavers are women. Unlike thangka painting, which has very precise religious rules, weaving provides the weaver an opportunity to express herself. Designs, colours, sizes and even the finish have always reflected the materials available and the changes in technology and fashion. Bhutan’s weavers specialise in working additional decorative warps and wefts into the ‘ground’ fabric. The most elaborate weavings are usually for the traditional kira and gho and these garments may take up to a year to weave in silk.
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Thomas Slocum wrote In His Majesty’s Civil Service, a collection of short stories set in Bhutan.
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Each region has its own weaving traditions and designs, with that of Lhuentse, the ancestral home of the royal family, being the most renowned. The weavers in Lhuentse specialise in decorating kira and other textiles with intricate patterns that resemble embroidery. Other parts of eastern Bhutan are famous for their distinctive striped garments woven from raw silk. Bumthang weavers produce another popular fabric – yathra, hand-woven strips of woollen cloth, stitched into blankets, jackets, cushion covers and even car seats.
Though yathra was traditionally produced on back-strap looms, pedal looms were introduced from Tibet in the mid-20th century, whilst Indian spinning wheels are faster than the drop spindle. Today, all these technologies can be seen being used by weavers in their homes.
More recently, with assistance from the government, new items such as bags, decorations and even bed and table linen have been developed both for the local and international markets.
Literature
The development of jo yig, the cursive Bhutanese script, as distinct from a Tibetan script, is credited to a monk by the name of Lotsawa Denma Tsemang. However, the Bhutanese script is based on the Tibetan script introduced by Tonmi Sambhota during the reign of the Tibetan king, Songtsen Gampo. For the most part, the literary culture of Bhutan has been dominated by Buddhism; first as a means of translating Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit, and second as local scholars began to emerge, as a means of developing Himalayan Buddhist thought.
Wood-block printing has been used for centuries and is still the most common form of printing in the monasteries. Blocks are carved in mirror-image, then the printers working in pairs place strips of handmade paper over the inked blocks and a roller passes over the paper. The printed strip is then set aside