Culture of Burma - Arts

Arts

Historically, Burmese art was based on Buddhist or Hindu cosmology and myths. There are several regional styles of Buddha images, each with certain distinctive characteristics. For example, the Mandalay style, which developed in the late 1800s, consists of an oval-shaped Buddha with realistic features, including naturally curved eyebrows, smaller but still prominent ears, and a draping robe. There are 10 traditional arts, called pan sè myo (ပန်းဆယ်မျိုး), listed as follows:

1. Blacksmith (ပန်းပဲ ba-bè)
2. Woodcarving (ပန်းပု ba-bu)
3. Goldsmith (ပန်းထိမ် ba-dein)
4. Stucco relief (ပန်းတော့ pandaw)
5. Masonry (ပန်းရန် pa-yan)
6. Stone carving (ပန်းတမော့ pantamaw)
7. Turnery (ပန်းပွတ် panbut)
8. Painting (ပန်းချီ bagyi)
9. Lacquerware (ပန်းယွန်း panyun)
10. Bronze casting (ပန်းတဉ်း badin)

In addition to the traditional arts are silk weaving, pottery, tapestry making, gemstone engraving, and gold leaf making. Temple architecture is typically of brick and stucco, and pagodas are often covered with layers of gold leaf while monasteries tend to be built of wood (although monasteries in cities are more likely to be built of modern materials). A very common roofing style in Burmese architecture is called pyatthat (ပြာသာဒ်), which is a multi-tiered and spired roof.