Page 113 - Experience Thailand and More

WHAT TO DO They say this is the last workshop to practice this ancient craft, at least

in Mandalay. So they are kept busy, having to supply all the temples and
pagodas. Once the men complete their task, it’s left to the women with
AND SEE their nimbler fingers to separate and shape each gold leaf sheet, placing
it on brown paper and packing ten of these in plastic bags which are sold
for Ks 3000, or US $3.00. There are some available in the showroom along
with gilded Buddha images, sculptures and gold etched lacquerware.

King Galon Gold Leaf Workshop
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No 143 36 Street, Between 77 & 78 Street, Myet Parr Yart, Mandalay, Myanmar
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(+95) 2 32 135
Open daily from 9.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m.
As you walk up to the workshop, you’ll fall into step with the
cadence of the pounding, as two old boys or young men pummel
a pack of small, square sheets of gold wrapped in leather with
three-kilo mallets. They are timed by a half coconut shell with a tiny
hole floating in a pail of water. It takes three minutes to fill and after
ten times, they’ll take the sheets and split them up and start the
process again. After around five hours, the gold leaf will have been
pounded down to the desired infinitesimally thin thickness.

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