Nepalese carved candleholders
September 2013. We've just come back from Kathmandu, Nepal, where we've been surrounded by an excess of woodcarving - wonderful! The old buildings of the Kathmandu valley have beautifully detailed woodcarving on door lintels, joists, roof beams and doors. Woodcarving is everywhere! I couldn't help but notice the similarity between this carved pillar capital and our old carved wooden candleholders.
The high point of Nepali woodcarving occurred in the 16th century when the rival kingdoms of the Kathmandu valley tried to out-do each other with fine and very ambitious architecture. The walls of the buildings are made from locally fired bricks and timber which means there's plenty of timber faces that can be decorated. Stone is used but usually for flooring and staircases. If you want a flavour of this style take a further look at these candleholders.
You can read more about wood carvings in the Nepal on another blog post Woodcarving in the Kathmandu Valley.