"The Sand Painting," in a unique gold frame, is not only beautiful, but represents a unique art form found nowhere else in the world. 

When you visit the many temples of Bagan that there are young artists displaying their paintings on the floor. These paintings are replicas of the murals and are created using a sand technique, a particular aspect of Bagan art.

The origin of this unique type of art follows an earthquake that hit Bagan in 1975. Prior to this, the Department of Archaeology banned the creation of carbon copies of murals, as well as photographs or video, for it was thought that these activities could damage the ancient murals. However the earthquake created chaos, causing hundreds of temples and pagodas to collapse. The villagers took advantage of this disorder and began copying the temple’s murals on carbon!

Thus in the present day, artist’s still make a living from selling copies to tourists. The method is laborious and very skilled! Replicas of the murals are sketched on to a piece of cloth using a stylus. The cloth is then covered with acrylic glue. Sand can then be sprinkled over the cloth through a sieve but following the exact lines of the drawing. Once dry, vivid colors are hand painted on.

Piece measures 17"x22".