Shopping / Wood Carving & Furniture
Until a few decades back, wide parts of northern and western Thailand were covered with dense jungles, known for their majestic teak trees. And until just a few years back, Thailand was a major exporter of wood, mostly in form of logs but also of manufactured wooden products including carvings. But in the 80’s soil erosion took catastrophic proportions, and a total logging ban was imposed.
The government rushed to declare national parks at a breathtaking rate and meanwhile the population is as concerned about every remaining teak tree as Europeans about centuries old oak trees. Today, no other handicrafts are as difficult to export as are those made of wood. While container shipments of any kind of Thai handicrafts are generally no problem, those of wood carvings or other wooden products are now likely to need a permit from the Department of Fine Arts.
So difficult is the situation by now that this author was told (half secretly) by a major manufacturer of carved cuckoo’s clocks that he now imports his wood from... the United States.
In spite of the fact that northern Thailand is no longer rich in woods, most of the wood carvings of the kingdom still come from the north (there are even fewer forests in other parts of Thailand). Traditional Thai wood carvings have a highly original design. Most notable are figurines of children with very round features. Typically, they are pastel colored.
Increasingly available in Thailand are Burmese wood carvings which are very different from those Thai. The easiest way to recognize Burmese carvings is by the colors - they are black. Not that they wood be carved from ebony - there is no ebony in Southeast Asia, ebony being a native of central Africa.
The blackening of the carvings would be understandable if the Burmese carvings wood be made of a wood of minor quality without a beautiful grain. But amazingly enough, the Burmese carvings are mostly made of teak wood, a precious wood itself. That the Burmese teak wood carvings are artificially blackened is the more surprising if one knows how nowadays this blackening is brought about. It is by... shoe polish. Without any regard of whether the carvings might look better black or in the natural reddish teak color, one cannot imagine that a piece of handicraft or folks art can possibly gain in value by being treated with shoe polish. It does sound just like wallpapering over old frescoes.
Well, if one forgets that the black appearance stems from shoe polish, the Burmese carvings look quite exquisite. Common motives are workmen in short sarongs, women in ritual dances or harnessed warriors. Typically the carvings go into great detail. While most pieces are about 30cm (about 1ft) high, there are also ensembles carved as one piece which include mounted warriors, mythological animals they fight against and a base which may include carved plants. There is a tendency that larger pieces depict a rather martial scene.
Many arts and antiques shops in Bangkok have a few pieces of Burmese wood carvings, and occasionally they are also seen at handicraft stalls along the side walks in tourist areas such as Sukhumvit Road. A typical Bangkok price for a 30cm figurine is around 500 Baht. At Mae Sai or other towns at the Thai/Burmese border they can be bought for half that price.
Most furniture available in furniture stores in Bangkok meanwhile is of Western style. Exceptions are only some rattan furniture, and especially rosewood furniture which typically is richly decorated by ornamental carving. Occasionally, pieces have inlaid mother-of-pearl.
The Thai (and Vietnamese) technic for mother-of-pearl inlays is quite different from the Chinese one. The original Chinese technic is to fit precisely cut shell pieces into notches. The Thai and Vietnamese technics to the contrary are to glue the mother-of-pearl on the wood and then apply several layers of lac. After that the surface is sanded until smooth. Some furniture stores in Bangkok are:
Deesawat Industries
71/9 Chaeng Wattana Rd, Tel 521-1314
rosewood furniture;Western, Thai design
Peter Furniture
157/1 Mahadlek 2, Rajadamri Road
behind Regent Hotel; Tel 252-6727
recommended by the Australian-New Zealand Women’s Group
Pongsin
109 Suthisarn Road, Tel 277-0355
among other furniture some in teak wood
Prinya Decoration
3106-8 Samyak, New Petchburi Road
corner Soi 63; Tel 318-1824
some rosewood and teak furniture
Pure Design
30 Soi Ruam Rudi, Ploenchit Road
modern and classic designs, also rattan
Star House
746-52 Sukhumvit Road (near Soi 34)
rosewood, teak furniture
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