Wood Carving: Elephant carving is very popular in Chiang Mai, the most important city of the Northern Thailand where is the gathering of local artisans and the centre of invaluable handicrafts. "Wooden carvings" is considered one of the finest traditional handicrafts that reflect the civilized northern people's way of life. You can find woodcarving items in many districts of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Many old craftsmen, who worked for genuine fine arts, passed away. This art form in Thailand originated from the temples where religious objects such as Buddha images and pulpits were finely carved. Royal regalia for the court and household objects used by the nobility were also decorated with carving in temple buildings, the doors, shutters, gables and triangular brackets supporting the overhanging roofs were often intricately carved with animal and plant motifs. Traditionally only a few artefacts were commissioned, and the wooden elephant was the most common everyday carved object. Genuine Teak is the common name for Tectona grandis, a large deciduous tree of the family Verbenaceae, or its wood, one of the most valuable timbers. Teak has been widely used in India for more than 2,000 years. The name teak is from the Malayan word tekka. The tree has a straight, but often buttressed stem. Due to the oil and rubber found naturally in the wood, teak has a greater ability to withstand the elements than any other wood. Teak timber is valued in warm countries principally for its extraordinary durability. The timber is practically imperishable under cover. Teakwood is well known since early/ancient times as a valuable resource due to its long life reliability and weather resistance as well as its workable qualities. Pieces of teak have been found (in India) over 200 years old and still intact. Teakwood is used for shipbuilding, fine furniture, door and window frames, wharves, bridges, cooling-tower louvers, flooring, panelling, railway cars, and Venetian blinds. An important property of teak is its extremely good dimensional stability. It is strong, of medium weight, and of average hardness. Teak also refers specifically to the wood and its characteristic colour, which ranges from olive to yellowish grey or moderate brown. |