Photograph #90
Location: Mandalay, Myanmar
Google Earth Coordinates:
Date: September 2005
Format and Resolution: Digital (photo available in 1200 X 1600 resolution)
Photo Description: Gold leaf making workshop I visited while in Mandalay. Gold leaf, widely sold in pagodas around Myanmar, is used to gild the Buddha image or stupa. Gilding a Buddha image or a stupa with gold leaf brings great merit to the gilder. The gold leaf is usually made in Mandalay - the makers are concentrated in the south-east of the city, near the intersection of 36th and 78th Street. Sheets of gold are beaten into super-thin pieces which are cut into squares and sold in packets. The typical gold-leaf square measures just 0.0001 cm -- thinner than ink on the printed page! To get that thin, the gold leaf, layered in bamboo paper, are hammered for about 5 hours with a 6 lb hammer.. To see more photos from Mandalay click here.