Arts and Crafts

Bhutan is truly the last Shangri-La insofar as Himalayan Buddhist arts are concerned. Whereas these art forms are in decline in the rest of the Himalayas, they enjoy considerable government support and patronage by the rich in Bhutan. There are institutes where the zorig chusum (the 13 traditional arts) are taught formally. The 13 arts are painting, carpentry, carving, sculpture, casting, blacksmithing, bamboo work, gold and silver smithing, weaving, embroidery, masonry, leather work and paper-making.  As with most things Bhutanese, the arts in Bhutan derive meaning and value from Buddhism. Mural paintings, for example, always show a persona, object or concept of religious significance; and are anonymous without names or signatures of the artists. The painting is not so much a decorative item as it is a spiritual medium – the artist aims to convey religious sense through the symbolic value of the painting.