Michael A. Firman
Mongolia - Art
The Art...
This page contains pictures of some of the "street" or "folk" art of the Mongolian people. There seems to be much use of water color as a medium, but oils (or acrylics) are used sometimes on fabric. Most of the scenes depict daily rural life or warriors in battle. I have acknowledged the artists whenever possible (i.e. when they have signed their works.) While I had no idea how to translate the Mongolian script, Dmitri Morenkov, an Honours M.A. graduate in Mongolian Studies from the St. Petersburg University in Russia has translated the signatures on these paintings. I have included his translations below each image. He notes that there are no formal rules for transliterating such signatures and hence his spellings are an attempt to get close to the correct pronunciation (for English readers).
This little oil on fabric depicts the procedure used to milk a mare. The Nomads use mare's milk to make airag, a fermented beverage that tastes a little like thin, effervescent, plain, yogurt.
A similar procedure is used to milk camels apparently.
