Wood painting and engraving

In the north of Mongolia there are rich forest holdings. They occupy a territory larger than the total area of Belgium and the Netherlands. No wonder that wood has always played an important part in the life of people living in this region. Its availability, simple processing techniques, lightness and durability of wooden objects handy for the nomadic way of life made wood an irreplaceable material for making various utensils. Larch was used to make furniture, pine – to make wooden parts of a yurt, musical instruments were made of cedar and cups for koumiss – of birch roots. Other wood species (elm, dogwoods, juniper) were also widely used. Only men used to engage in wood painting, but at present women can also be found among masters.

Wood carvers (siilberch) were divided into ordinary craftsmen (muzhan) and artists (urchuud). Almost all of them masters of wood painting technique. Masters of wood painting were also divided into simple decorators (budagch) and artists (mutarlch). They usually used the simplest tools: a saw, a chisel, knives, drills. Paintings made with the use of stencils were usually a combination of different patterns which had a good-wishing meaning. The symbolic character of a patter was often emphasized by color. The Mongols especially like yellow, blue and red colors as they are associated with energy and optimism.

Wooden temple decoration. Mongolia. Mongols. D. Ivanov. 2006		Wooden home altar. Mongolia. Mongols. 1830s.		A "horse" chess piece. Mongolia. The Mongols. 19th century.
Walls of a yurt are constructed of wooden bars. The roof-supporting poles are fixed to the woodern bars. Mongolia. The Mongols. Ivanov D., 2006.		Yurt-like Buddhistic tample. Mongolia. The Mongols. Ivanov D.