South East Asia

Tapestry (shwe shi hto)

The art of tapestry named shwe chi hto (gold embroidery) seems to be flourished about one thousand years ago. Evidence can be found in...

Puppet (yoke thay)

Myanmar puppet stage is fully developed with drama music, songs and dances. The writer SayaHlaTha Mein wrote in his book, Myanmar Yoke – thayTabin...

Earthenware

The town of Moattama was first mentioned in an old Burmese inscription of 1326 where it is called Muttama, the name which until now...

Paper (hmaing-kaing)

The first stage of the papermaking process is cooking hard straw in the steamer for twenty-four hours to become soft. The dried straw is...

Metal pandain

In Myanmar, the traditional arts of gold and silver smithing are known as pandain; they are considered to be one of the country’s ten...

Lotus weaving

Lotus weaving was conceived nearly a century ago when a woman named Daw Sa U picked a lotus flower from Inle Lake to offer...

Lacquerware (pan yun)

Myanmar traditional lacquerware emerged in the early part of Bagan Period (eleventh century AD). In Myanmar, it is known as pan yun, which refers...

Finial making (hti taw)

Myanmar traditional craftsmanship is represented by “ten flowers”, which are as follow- blacksmith, bronze-smith, silversmith and goldsmith, stucco, monastery, sculpture, stone carving, turning designs...

Woodworking

Woodworking is an age-old decorative art in the Philippines.  Probably the oldest existing manifestations of this art form are archaeologically recovered boat-shaped coffins on...

Shell Craft

Crafts utilising shells have been practiced in the Philippines for centuries. Archaeological examples of shells used as implements have been found. Ethno-linguistic groups such...

Piña Weaving

Piña is a handwoven Philippine textile produced mostly by the Aklanon in the province of Aklan in Western Visayas, Philippines. It is considered the...

Plaiting of mats and hats

Filipinos have lived their lives amidst articles fabricated through plaiting. The banig or plaited mat, has serviced the Filipino for sleeping or sitting, for...