There are few woodcarvings as ornate as this one to be seen anywhere. It is at least 127 years old and probably a lot older, part of Mandalay's Shwe Nandaw Monastery, which used to be the Royal Palace of Mindon, the King of Burma from 1853-1878. This carving, as well as the entire building, was once covered in pure gold. (You can see another example of carving from this palace in my Abstraction gallery by clicking on the thumbnail below. ) I photographed this one segment to represent the entire façade because of the complexity and beauty of its detail, its rhythmic repetition, and its elegant coloration. Even though the gold is gone and the teak has weathered over the years in Burma’s rains, the fine details remain as brilliantly defined as ever. I brought three layers of detail into play here. I frame my scene left and right with strongly vertical posts, to add a sense of depth perception and also to allow the main, middle level of detail to flow between them. The image is anchored by the lithe and supple figure on the right, and then explodes into a curling, diagonal boat-like prow carrying six tiny, exquisitely detailed figures upon it. The final level of detail is emblazoned on the reddish brown façade of the palace wall itself, which provides a softly focused background for this image. I am sure that King Mindon and his 19th Century artisans wanted to evoke both a sense of craftsmanship and history with such renderings in teak, and I tried to bring a sense of it back to life in this image by expressing its essence in the finest details of the workmanship.