Temple Mosaic: A Jewel of Thailand

One has to be prepared for the unexpected upon entering the temple grounds of Wat Pho as very quickly there is a realisation that what from a distance looks like beautifully ornate carved structures are in fact made up of thousands of pieces of broken pottery.

 Mosaic at Wat Pho, Bangkok

The richly hued terracotta is made up of varying tones and patterns which form geometric shapes, essentially composed of detailed flowers which have a wonderfully tactile feel making them irresistible not to touch.

Wat Pho is one of the delights of visiting Bangkok and one of the largest and oldest Wats in Thailand. The Wat (which means a Buddhist temple or monastery ) dates back to the rule of King Rama I ( 1782 – 1809) and the name refers to its four tessellated spires which soar 42 meters into the sky like an oriental Tower of Babel.

Wat Pho / Wat Rong Khun

The spires or ‘Chedi’s’ were built by King Mongkut and represent the reigns of the first four kings of the Chakri Dynasty with each spire made up of different coloured mosaic: green, white, yellow and dark blue, each one contrasting with the other yet all remaining integral in their relationship to the complex as a whole.

Wat Rong Khun – Notes from a Fairytale Dream
Even from a distant Wat Rong Khum conjures up a resplendent presence. Situated in northern Thailand and designed as recently as 1997 (and still uncompleted) the temple provides a conspicuous contrast to Wat Pho or indeed to any other temple in Thailand. The structure is part giant ice sculpture and part forbidden palace from a fairytale dream as it is formed exclusively in white and mirrored glass which is supposed to signify the purity and wisdom of the Lord Buddha – the temples effect of shimmering reflections from the embedded glass, illuminates in all directions which in turn creates a natural display of glittering lights.

Wat Rong Khun, Chiang Rai,Thailand

This kinetic aura is of otherworldly proportions and the effect becomes heightened as a closer examination of the exterior reveals; mythological creatures profiled against the pale sky - demonic apparitions that dance in the light exposing an assortment of finely crafted swirls, twisted and curling ends with sharp points, mirrored eyes and serpent tongue’s spitting light in many directions. The temple is simultaneously a magnificent fantasy and a strange reality, juxtaposed against and interlaced with the surrounding landscape.

 Mosaic Inspiration: Porcelain charm encased in silver

Spring/Summer 2011 Photoshoot

Model - Christine Bonney

Photographer - Vikki Ellis

Hair & Makeup Artist - Alexis Daly

Model - Christine Bonney
Photographer - Vikki Ellis
Hair & Makeup Artist - Alexis Daly

The Forbidden City: Objects from the Gilded Cage

Recently, I visited the ‘Imperial Chinese Robes’ exhibition at the V&A in London and among the beautifully crafted hats, shoes, children's clothes and patterned fabrics that were on display there, I came across an elaborate and exquisitely fashioned robe which I recalled seeing at the Palace Museum in Beijing several years earlier.

The robe - informal in its function, had belonged to the Empress Dowager Cixi and was worn when she was not fulfilling official duties (complex rules and conventions specifying which clothes should be worn on different court occasions were implicitly followed). Its form ­- illuminated in satin yellow, shimmered like evening sunlight, while beautifully embroidered butterfly’s and cranes revelled amongst the elaborate fauna of the garments folds.

Empress' informal robe, Guangxu reign period (1875-1908) 

The Palace Museum, Beijing.

Once the exclusive dominion of the Empress Dowager the intense yellow of this outfit has undergone a democratic transformation becoming the prevailing colour of choice amongst the Beijing tourist, this heritage could be witnessed in the brightly coloured caps, bags, umbrellas and guidebooks that peppered the courtyards of the Forbidden City. On this particular day these scattered patterns had become more intense hue’s as tourists huddled together in groups trying to escape the biting winds that blew around these vast open spaces.

The courtyards, also known as the “Sea of Flagstones” envelop the three great halls that served the Ming and Qing Dynasties as imperial residences and made up the ceremonial heart of the Forbidden City, but with the concessions China has made to modernity and the rush to embrace the western ideal of tourism the mystique has somewhat faded (this cultural erosion was not helped by the opening of a Starbucks coffee shop here in 2000, although due to intense pressure from the Chinese media the shop was closed in 2007).

 The old starbucks in The Forbidden City

Inside the city one encounters a myriad of passageways, temples, pagodas, gardens and most noticeably, an endless parade of large wooden doors. This surreal spectacle, resembling a vignette from ‘Alice in Wonderland’ was enhanced by the occasional sighting of smartly dressed museum staff disappearing and reappearing through these portals, all of which only helped to elevate the legend of "Palace of 9,999 and a half rooms" (because only the palace of heaven could have a perfect 10,000).

At the heart of the Palace Museum - treasures of delicately carved bowls, gracefully shaped vases and other decorative ornaments made from contrasting shades of jade; elaborately hand-painted porcelain that must have been the envy of any visitor from cosmopolitan Europe and suits of beautifully made armour could all be observed - each object a testament to a lost culture in which time had stood still and where complex rules and procedures were enacted by courtiers with the sole purpose of keeping up the artifice of a dynasty with power.

 Entrance to The Forbidden City and Empress Cixi

Two objects exemplified life in this gilded cage. The first; a finely detailed bamboo screen from which it was said, the Dowager Empress Cixi had discreetly received visitors as foreign dignitaries and Chinese of lower cast were not allowed to lay eyes on such a divine personage.

The second object was a black, heavy-framed bicycle, given to the Last Emperor Pu Yi, by his British tutor, Reginald Johnston. At the beginning of the 20th Century the Emperor still lived within the 25-foot fortified violet wall of the Great Within, he was the only male there – except for the 1500 eunuchs of the Manchu court and was rarely allowed to venture beyond the Forbidden City's walls, so to have received this offering must have seen to the Emperor as the essence of western modernity and an escape into another world.

Emperor Pu Yi

Following the Silver Trail

High up in the mountains where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos converge there is an area known as “The Golden Triangle”. This area was once the centre of all opium poppy growing in the country, today, however, this illicit profession has long since been replaced by tourist villages who’s roads are flanked by countless small restaurants and vendor's souvenir stalls that run along the banks of the Mekong River.

The Mekong has become home to one of the most enjoyable and popular tourist pastimes in this region - the boat tour. Wooden long-tail boats are available for hire here, and cruising up the river and its tributaries allows visitors a glimpse of village life in the many riverside settlements of the Karen hill tribes.

These semi-nomadic people, famous for their silverwork, migrated from Tibet around the 12th century and it is said that there are approximately 400,000 Karen Hill Tribe people living in the hills of Northern Thailand, and another 7 million in Myanmar.

I was privileged enough to visit Mai Le, a village near the border with Myanmar where I watched artisans carefully handcraft designs from scratch, using only high-content silver (97%-99% pure). The Karen employ traditional methods and tooling skills which have been influenced by centuries of tribe culture and art and you can actually see evidence of each piece having been formed by the hands of the craftsman.

Typically, this type of jewellery is engraved with plants, flowers, animals, or geometric designs, symbolizing their direct connection & historical links to both the land and water.

Bali: The art of decorative silver-casting
The art of metalworking arrived in Indonesia in the Bronze Age from Southern Chinese and Southeast Asian areas. Graves discovered from this period have revealed gold and silver necklaces, hairpins, beads and rings.

By the beginning of the 16th century Bali became a sanctuary for Hindus forced out of an increasingly Islamized Java. As the Majapahit Empire crumbled, there was a huge influx into Bali of Javanese noblemen and craftsmen and Bali became one of the main centers of precious metal craft.

The metal-smiths of Bali have been making beads dating back to this period; historically, they used silver to make bowls and items for their temple offerings, and gradually used silver to replace gold for the actual jewellery.

Balinese artisans begin by "casting" a base bead, this means pouring liquid silver into a mold to create the base piece, which is then decorated by soldering additional pieces of silver onto it.

After the beads are finished, they are cleaned with a solution made from tamarind fruit, then dipped into an antiquing solution. This last step in the process fills the grooves with a dark color to create a contrast between the high and low parts of the bead resulting in the distinctive style of the Balinese bead.