Probably the
most original, one of the most beautiful and one of the best value
Thai handicrafts are painted umbrellas. And while they
are available in Bangkok and tourist souvenir stores all over
the country, practically all of them come from one place: the
village of Bo Sarn between Chiang Mai city and the small
town of San Kamphaeng, just a few kilometers west of Chiang Mai.
Bo Sarn has
specialized in umbrellas not only since tourists have happened
to like them. Umbrellas have been manufactured here for decades
if not centuries. The original purpose of the umbrellas
was to give them as offerings to monks and temples. Still today
Wats are occasionally adorned with large Bo Sarn umbrellas, and
sometimes they provide shade for Buddha images.
Typically,
the umbrellas are made of so-called Sa paper which is manufactured
in old technics from the bark of the mulberry tree. Even
unpainted, this paper looks delicate as it resembles parchment
or a very thin hide. In most cases the umbrellas are painted
with flower or bird motives.
They come
in all sizes, ranging from the very small one which can adorn
potted plants, to the very large, good enough to provide shade
for a whole group at a picnic.
In general,
the umbrellas are made in home industry by the villagers
of Bo Sarn and, meanwhile, surrounding villages up to San Kamphaeng
and beyond. Nevertheless, at Bo Sarn a number of places present
themselves in factory style, similar to the "factories" for lacquerware.
In contrast to what is the case for lacquerware, these are the
best places to buy retail quantities of umbrellas. Umbrellas of
the size of utility umbrellas cost about 50 Baht (2 US
Dollars) while the smallest are available for about 35 Baht (small
umbrellas aren't much less work than those regular size). All
the major sales places offer shipping of large umbrellas.
An rather
touristy offshoot of the umbrellas are hand painted fans.
Large numbers are manufactured in San Kamphaeng. Actually, at
San Kamphaeng, every second shop seems to sell hand painted fans.
While they are not as original as the umbrellas they are easier
attached to walls than the umbrellas which tend to consume quite
some space in the rooms they adorn. While the workmanship is less
intricate in the fans than in the umbrellas, they cost about
double for comparative sizes. The reason are the more expensive
raw materials - cloths instead of paper and straight bamboo sticks
instead of thin ordinary timber sticks.
