Myanmar Seeks Foreign Market for Sculptures

Myanmar has been seeking foreign market for sale of wooden sculptures created with cyclone-downed trees and a total of 800 sculptures of 116 designs have been sold to a Beijing culture and arts company of China, sources with the Central Cooperative Society said on Sunday.

Most of the exported sculptures are of Chinese and Myanmar traditional design and style.

There are altogether over 2,000 post-Nargis sculptures in Myanmar with Asian and European traditional styles, animals, ethnic minorities, religion, furniture and modern statues, it said.

In March last year, a cyclone-related sculpture contest was held in Yangon, participated by a total of 200 woodcarvers in the country.

During the cyclone storm that swept Myanmar on May 2-3, 2008, more than 10,000 old-aged trees and other shade-providing ones were blown down, of which 6,000 were put upright.

These stem roots of trees of 30 to 100 years of age are sold freely to both domestic and foreign entrepreneurs for use in sculpture and decoration.

Besides, Myanmar has opened a wood garden at the People's Square in Yangon created with stem roots and branches from the cyclone-downed trees.