Bagyi Aung Soe, “Traditional Burmese Textile Printing”, in From Tradition to Modernity, Yangon: Khin May Si Sapay, 1978, 39-47.1
39 It can surely be said that Burmese traditional art is admired by the whole world: lacquer wares, sculpture, goldsmith or silversmith and clothes with gold or silver embroidery. Burmese crafts have always inspired admiration wherever they are exhibited in both the East and the West. Every Burmese citizen who has been outside the country experienced how much others respect the country because of the traditional crafts. 40 One of the lesser known crafts is textile printing with traditional designs. It is one of the crafts that utilises designs to the best advantage, and the result is thus typically Burmese. Moreover, foreign visitors who have great admiration for our traditional clothes and objects come to Myanmar to buy them. Expanding work on this will not only be economically beneficial, but also help to preserve a strong national identity. There are museums in other countries that display Burmese crafts, such as Kolkata, London and Russia. When I was in India, I often visited the Kolkata Museum. 41 It was because I wanted to see a room full of traditional crafts, which I did not get to see in Myanmar. Sadly, they are in other countries for the time being and their priceless value has been forgotten in Myanmar. Museums in London also collect and display Burmese art and crafts too. The artworks, crafts and publications given to Russia as presents on the diplomatic cultural exchange were all exhibited in the museums. Myanmar is seen as the country whose people love and respect tradition. Art, together with dance, drama and music, … 42
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This translation only conveys the gist of the article, not all the nuances. Bagyi Aung Soe, “Traditional Burmese Textile Printing”, in From Tradition to Modernity, Yangon: Khin May Si Sapay, 1978, 39-47.
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AungSoeillustrations.org