Arabesque Door Miniature in Gypsum Work

Today's photo is a shot of a Gypsum work done by an artisan at Manama Craft Centre and this piece is depicting the ancient Bahraini's door with its beautiful arabesque and islamic scripts.

Gypsum has been used since ancient times to build monuments that have lasted for centuries. The oldest traces of plaster (gypsum) renders are 9,000 years old, and were found in Anatolia and Syria. The pyramids of Giza in Egypt, for example, is the only surviving wonder of the ancient world. This noble material has been a constant presence in construction and renovation through the ages. The ancient Greeks also used a transparent quality of gypsum "selenite" to construct statues and windows for their temples.

Today gypsum is used widely in a lot of applications of our daily life and in different sectors, such as the construction industry, health, agriculture, decoration, paintings and more. In general, gypsum is suitable for all interior plastering except areas directly exposed to free water or severe moisture and therefore is not recommended for exterior applications. Gypsum is also non-combustible and resist to fire for extended periods of time.

What is gypsum actually?

Gypsum, a sedimentary rock scientifically named "Calcium Sulfate", was created from the evaporation of sea water that was trapped in lagoons of subsoil and is usually found in mountains. The impure gypsum (that it is found in the subsoil) can have different color variations, such as grey, brown or red. Please go to Wiki here for further reading.

Happy Reading Folks! Further down I attached another shot of various gypsum works available at the craft centre.

Bahraini's Doll

This is a picture of a local Bahraini's doll made of fabric and attired in Bahraini's traditional woman dresses. This photo I took somewhile ago during the visit to al Jasra Craft Centre. This traditional toy has been revived by the local artisans recently and for sure that they are very beautifully made and carefully accesoried according to Bahraini's traditional attires.

A doll is an object that represents a baby or other human being, but includes likenesses of animals and imaginary creatures. Dolls have been around since the dawn of human civilization, and have been fashioned from a vast array of materials, ranging from stone, clay, wood, bone, cloth and paper, to porcelain, china, rubber and plastic.

While dolls have traditionally been toys for children, they are also collected by adults, for their nostalgic value, beauty, historical importance or financial value. In ancient times, dolls were used as representations of a deity, and played a central role in religious ceremonies and rituals. Lifelike or anatomically correct dolls are used by health professionals, medical schools and social workers to train doctors and nurses in various health procedures or investigate cases of sexual abuse of children. Artists sometimes use jointed wooden mannequins in drawing the human figure. Action figures representing superheroes and their predecessors, action dolls, are particularly popular among boys.

So, Do you like dolls dear readers?

Bahrain's Local Carpet