Photos

The vividly painted decorations on the houses and Dzongs of Bhutan echo the colourful dress of the local people.

The exposed exterior timbers of these traditional buildings are meticulously decorated with bands of floral motifs and abstract designs. Bhutan is a devoutly Buddhist country, and every element of this decoration is a symbol, or at least derives from a symbol of Buddhist significance. In addition to beautifying the buildings, such adornments can be seen as a prayer or meditation expressed in colour and line with intent to attract good fortune and ward off evil.

The outlines of the designs are applied to the timber using stencils, then painted in using a variety of rich colours. Traditionally the dyes and paints available in Bhutan consisted of just four natural pigments extracted from the soil: white, red-brown, orange-red and a very dark blue-black. By combining these four pigments the painter is able to achieve a wide range of colours and shades.