Wednesday, August 14, 2013

The crown

Yesterday when I posted photos of the Graphite Chest of Drawers I also received a lot of emails and messages about the "crown" I had displayed on top of the dresser. So many people wanted to know what it was, where I got it from and is it for sale?


The crown is actually a gelungan. These are the finial tops to a Balinese temple and are hand crafted from terracotta. You see them on temples and beach huts throughout Bali. I feel in love with this little architectural detail when we were on holiday in Bali last year.






They are not sold as souvenirs but I tracked one down and carried it ever so carefully home with me.  I paid about $10 for it. I am pretty sure they are just sun dried and not kiln dried as it is very brittle. You can see the artisan's thumb prints in the clay. Just beautiful.  After a couple of month of having my gelungan home, I decided to paint it white. I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White.

It's a wonderful souvenir and some thing a bit different from the normal bintang t-shirt people bring home!


I thought you might like to see some other photos from our trip. It was a magical couple of weeks. As well as the beach, we escaped the touristy parts and stayed in a beautiful villa surrounded by rice paddies. Read more about the villa here.






You can see a gelungan on the top of that tower in the foreground buildings.


I loved seeing the other side of Bali, the non-resort, non touristy side. How the Balinese people live and work. We loved wandering through the markets, bartering for food. Also how beautiful are all the fresh flowers for the Hindi offerings.  







We drove out to the countryside to see the rice fields and small towns. The rice fields are beautiful. Back breaking work to harvest and thresh it though.




and of course we hit the beaches and beach resort in true tourist style




Cocktails on the beach while the kids played in the sand. Fantastic. I could do with some relaxation in the sun right now! But we won't be taking any time off work for a few months now. I have a new contract starting next week and Phil's very busy at work so we are planning a little get away up the coast later in the year. Nothing flash, just staying with friends.

What's the most unusual souvenir you have brought home? do you still love it?

Fiona


3 comments:

  1. We spent 3 weeks on the island of Borneo over 32 years ago. Our souvenir is now 31...and he's the best thing we brought home!

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    1. oh that is priceless! love it, yes i can imagine he is xx

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  2. Wow Fiona, it looks like a beautiful holiday and I love your photography. When I was in France about ten years ago I found a beautiful vintage hand sewn eiderdown, I have it on my bed and it;s very beautiful.
    Your gelungan is very precious, so pretty
    Beth x

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