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OCCUPATIONS OF THE PEOPLE
[ch. xv
at Amarapura and elsewhere. The materials used are marble and steatite.
In pictorial art, so far, Burmans have not attained a high standard. But there are native frescoes and pictures more quaint and grotesque than beautiful. Some frescoes on the walls and ceilings of zayats (rest houses) near the Shwe DagĂ´n Pagoda, representing the torments of lost souls, are realistically horrible. And there are many old frescoes at Pagan. One thing a Burmese artist can do. He can draw an elephant. An art school has been opened at Rangoon. It is possible that Burmese pictorial art has a future.