May 7, 2012

Zodiac Mosaic Mural

Ulaanbaatar, 2007

The entire wall of a building in the capital of Mongolia was covered with this mosaic mural with the Chinese zodiac. From the close-ups you can see it was made in squares and somehow attached to the wall.


Below I recognize the yin-yang symbol of complementary opposites in the center. There are other symbols on the mural I'd like to learn more about.


Have not been able to find out any details about this mural.

Since last week was my birthday as well as the birthday of the City of Oakland, CA, home to our kind host for this meme, I thought it a fitting contribution to Monday Mural.  

Andy, this one is for you. Wish I could've given you a piece. :-)

26 comments:

Linda said...

Lovely colors in this mural! Still looks vibrant - wonder how old it is?

Simon said...

Belated birthday wishes Cisca....I hope you had time for you last week (and a little ice cream, cake, and a wish too).
Cool mural-so many details. I'm sure you'll find out something about it-you're a wealth of information.
Wishing you a great day.

Vicki/Jake said...

Wait a minute Cisca...your birthday? How did this little fact slip by me? Well, I hope you made some fun memories:)

This mural is very interesting with all the zodiac stuff. Love the colors too. And you:)

Stay safe xox

Andy said...

Lots of detail in this mural. I don't believe you had birthday. Post photo of birthday cake as proof ;-)

Andy said...

LOL

Halcyon said...

A beautiful mural! Love all the design and colors.

I wouldn't mind a piece of that cake either. :)

Oakland Daily Photo said...

Love this mandala. It looks like a design from traditional temple paintings I've seen. Only they adapted it to a different medium. Clever. More likely to survive the Mongolian winters I bet. Isn't this the Chinese or eastern zodiac? I don't remember monkeys and snakes as part of our zodiac. Unless they slipped in when I wasn't looking. haha. Regardless, a beautiful image. Thanks for contributing to this week's Monday Mural, Francisca. And happy birthday to you!

Anonymous said...

Happy belated birthday.

What a lovely mural. Pity there's not much information about it.

In response to your inability to commnt on WP blogs, I am not aware that such a thing happens, I do know the opposite, as my friends in WP can't comment on blogger, although I was able to fix that from another blogger friend.

VioletSky-Sightlines said...

A belated happy birthday to you!
Nice mural, though this seems to be the eastern, not western, zodiac signs.

RedPat said...

Wonderful mural!
Happy birthday! ;-))

Melbourne Australia Photos said...

I hope you had a wonderful birthday Francisca, may you enjoy many more filled with health and happiness.
The mural looks as though it's of the Chinese Zodiac and is certainly a very colourful decorative piece almost like a mandala!

jennyfreckles said...

Happy belated birthday - do you know which sign you were born under?

ArtandArchitecture-SF.com said...

Happy Belated Birthday. Love this, looks like a mosaic as well as a mural. Really a great capture.

genie said...

What an awesome mural. It must be huge. I cannot even begin to imagine how many years to create it. By the way, I had 2 very UGLY ducks in my cellblock all day today. They have been suspended for 2 days. I hope you have figured out that I am not going to forget those guys. They bring me to laughter each time I think about them. genie

Francisca said...

Oh boy, what a brain fart that was! Thanks, everyone. Yes, of course it's the Chinese zodiac. I have corrected my post.

And jennyfreckles, I am a Goat... as well as a Taurus... so can you imagine how stubborn I am!? I just choose to call it persevering. LOL! (And now you can calculate my age.)

Francisca said...

Ewok, it has something to do with my being in China and accessing social media through an anonymous proxy. It slows blogging right down and most times I cannot get into WP sites at all.

Andrea said...

Hello Francisca, i haven't been here for a while since i took decades to make a new blog, haha! So i was late in greeting you a wonderful birthday, i hope it really is better late than never! Those murals are beautiful. I remember telling you once of murals near MRT at Magallanes, Makati. I took pains while the bus was at the opposite side of the lane going North, so what i got are all the rails of MRT, very bad!

Ebie said...

Brain fart? you made me giggle!!!

I say that the artist had put in a lot of effort. I see the squares, but dissecting the details, I see tiny bits of mosaic tiles.

Happy birthday my dear!

Traveling Hawk said...

A belated happy birthday to you, Francisca!

The mosaic is great and so are the photos. I am a Pig/Boar and a Capricorn.

Sallie (FullTime-Life.com said...

There's a whole world to study right there in the mural! But for those of us too lazy to follow through, there's also just plain loveliness to look at. Happy B-Lated BD Francisca. I'm behind as usual (without any good excuse)

Kay L. Davies said...

For some reason, the name Ulaanbaatar has fascinated me since childhood. Gorgeous photos!
Many warm, if belated, wishes, birthday girl. I forgot my best friend's birthday last week. She reminded me of it in an e-mail, in what she called a passive-aggressive manner. Made me laugh.
K

Birdman said...

Is every color in these murals?

Carola said...

Happy belated Birthday Francisca!
Which day was it? My hubbys was on 4th.
Wonderful detailed mural. Great find.

Unknown said...

It's beautiful, Francisca!

Anita Johnson said...

Happy belated birthday!
The details on the mural are amazing...

Pat Tillett said...

Happy belated birthday wishes to you my friend!