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Bhutan is proud of its artistic heritage and produces works of excellent quality and great artistic value. The arts and crafts of Bhutan that represents the exclusive "spirit and identity of the Himalayan kingdom" is defined as the art of Zorig Chosum, which means the Tthirteen arts and crafts of Bhutan.
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Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked country in Asia. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, Bhutan is geopolitically in South Asia. Thimphu is its capital and largest city
Thimphu, the capital of the Kingdom of Bhutan, with a population of around 80,000 is the nation's largest city
Zorig Chusum School of Traditional Arts, near National Library
Zorig Chusum was established in 1971 to preserve the thirteen traditional arts of Bhutan, and visitors are able to observe students honing their skills. There is also a small gift shop selling work created at the school. The showroom sells good-value pieces made by students
This institute, commonly known as 'the painting school', operates four- to six-year courses that provide instruction in Bhutan's 13 traditional arts
Students specialise in painting (furniture, thangkas – painted religious pictures, usually on canvas), woodcarving (masks, statues, bowls), embroidery (hangings, boots, clothes) or statue-making (clay)
The craft demonstrations are a photographers' dream and it's hard not to be impressed with the skill and discipline of the young students
The arts and crafts of Bhutan that represents the exclusive "spirit and identity of the Himalayan kingdom" is defined as the art of Zorig Chosum, which means the “thirteen arts and crafts of Bhutan” Students lined up for morning assembly at Thimphu Institute for Zorig Chusum
The thirteen arts are paintings, carpentry, wood carving, sculpture, casting, metal work, bamboo carving, gold & silver work, weaving, embroidery, masonry, leather work and paper making
Most of students find employment with the government or start independent business
Be useful toTsa-Wa-Sun” (King-country-people). Bhutan is proud of its artistic heritage and produces works of excellent quality and great artistic value Inscription on the school wall: Be useful to Tsa-Wa-Sun” (King-country-people)
There are fixed hours for visit so that students are not disturbed
Major carvings are carried out on stone, wood and slate. The traditional designs crafted on these materials create beautiful and distinctive art works unique to the Land of the Thunder Dragon
Jim zo or clay work is an ancient craft that has been practiced and passed down over the centuries. This art form preceded other sculpture works such as bronze and other metal works. Statues of deities, gods and goddesses and other prominent religious figures exemplify clay work in Bhutan
Every monastery, temple and Dzong in the country has intricately molded clay statues from where pilgrims and devout Buddhists draw their inspiration. Master sculptors are known as Jim zo lopens and impart their skills to young novices over several years of rigorous training
As Bhutan has been blessed with an exceptionally abundant variety of trees, woodcarving is seen in a variety of forms
The wooden masks featured during the annual religious festivals (Tsechus) as well as the many traditional motifs that are engraved on the Bhutanese houses and on Dzongs are all carved out of wood
Embroidery: Students at the National Institute for Zorig Chusum. Tzhem zo or the art of tailoring is a popular art amongst the Bhutanese. This art can be broadly classified as Tshem drup the art of embroidery, lhem drup the art of appliqué and Tsho lham, the art of traditional Bhutanese boot making. The art of embroidery and appliqué are normally practiced by monks. Using this art they produce large religious scrolls known as Thangkas that depicts Gods and Goddesses, deities and saints
Making the leggings for traditional Bhutanese boots. Traditional boot making is normally the work of Bhutanese lay men. These boots, worn by officials during special functions and gatherings are made of leather and cloth
Bhutanese boots, mostly worn by royalty or people during celebrations The Oxford-educated king
Traditional Bhutanese boots Traditional Bhutanese Cotton Lama/monk/shoulder/bag. These cotton monk bags are designed to hold the entire worldly possessions of a Buddhist monk
Thankas - Buddhist style religious paintings mounted on silk brocade
Tanka is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, or human skin usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala. Tangkas are traditionally kept unframed and rolled up when not on display, mounted on a textile backing somewhat in the style of Chinese scroll paintings, with a further silk cover on the front
One subject of tanka is The Wheel of Life (Bhavachakra), which is a visual representation of the Abhidharma teachings (Art of Enlightenment)
The lha-zo, or painting is perhaps the oldest known art form in Bhutan. A Thongdrel (alt. throngdrel) is a large appliqué religious image normally only unveiled during tsechus, the main religious festivals in Bhutan. They are the largest form of thangka paintings in the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism
Weaving – particular heritage of women in Bhutan. Women of eastern Bhutan are skilled at weaving and some of the most highly prized textiles are woven by them
In the past, textiles were paid as a form tax to the government in place of cash and people from western Bhutan travelled all the way to Samdrup Jongkhar to acquire or barter for woven textiles
Bhutanese textiles are woven from cotton, raw cotton and silk with intricate motifs woven into the cloth
