Cotton:
Cambodia’s long dry season makes it suitable for cotton cultivation. By the beginning of the 20th century, Cambodia was the most important producer of cotton in mainland South East Asia. Over the next 50 years, however, cotton began to be replaced with more profitable tobacco and kapok, and local cotton had to compete with supplies from the USA, France and Japan.
Today the yarn is imported but traditionally woven cotton remains popular. Women in rural areas produce lengths of homemade cotton used as garments and household utility items. Every Cambodian owns at least one krama, the traditional cotton check scarf used for multiple purposes. Kramas in rural life become headcloths, sarongs, towels, bathing garments and baby slings. They can be used for bundling items to carry and even for catching small fish.
While kramas have survived well, other cotton items, such as homemade blankets, are in danger of being completely wiped out by cheaper machine-made textiles. Only in recent years have these begun to appear again in city markets, spurred by the presence of NGOs providing commissions to experienced weavers.
T Shirt
Traditional Cambodian clothing is broadly referred to as Sampot with many variations as National Dress of Cambodia. Assisting on one status in Khmer society, Khmer clothing has varied by region and time, and each social class has a different sense of fashion. Generally, the new fashion which had been invented in the current period, will always passed down to next period but just with some elimination replaced by new version but some clothing had been disappeared through the new era for long times and restored in another period due to the popularity.
Lacquer
The height of Cambodian traditional lacquerware was between the 12th and 16th centuries; some examples of work from this era, including gilded Buddha images and betel boxes, have survived to the present day. Lacquerware was traditionally colored black using burnt wood, representing the underworld; red using mercury, representing the earth; and yellow using arsenic, representing the heavens. Lacquer on Angkorian stone dates to the 15th or 16 century.[7]
In modern Cambodia, the art of lacquerwork nearly faded into oblivion: few lacquer trees survived, and lacquer was unavailable in local markets. Today's revival is still in its infancy, but 100 lacquer artists have been trained by a French expert under the guidance of Artisans d'Angkor, a company that produces traditional crafts in village workshops. Some artists are "beginning to experiment with different techniques and styles...to produce modern and striking effects."[7]
Stone Carving
Cambodia's best-known stone carving adorns the temples of Angkor, which are "renowned for the scale, richness and detail of their sculpture". In modern times, however, the art of stone carving became rare, largely because older sculptures survived undamaged for centuries (eliminating the need for replacements) and because of the use of cement molds for modern temple architecture. By the 1970s and 1980s, the craft of stone carving was nearly lost.[6]
During the late 20th century, however, efforts to restore Angkor resulted in a new demand for skilled stone carvers to replace missing or damaged pieces, and a new tradition of stone carving is arising to meet this need. Most modern carving is traditional-style, but some carvers are experimenting with contemporary designs. Interest is also renewing for using stone carving in modern wats. Modern carvings are typically made from Banteay Meanchey sandstone, though stone from Pursat and Kompong Thom is also used.[6]
Wood Carving
Another famed Art and Crafts in Cambodia is the intricate Wood carving. Every house in the village ensures that their pillars are beautifully carved with detailed designs of moons, stars, fruits and flowers.
The villagers of Kampong Luoung, the old Royal port in Kandal Province are known for their masterwork in the area of silver. Watch them crafting silver bowls, fine plates, trays, cutlery and candlesticks in different forms and shapes that are ultimately sold in the international market.
Pass through a traditional Khmer house along the warehouse building in Phnom Penh in Cambodia, which exudes an excellent impression of Cambodian handicrafts of the region. The inscriptions of mythical characters on the wall and the dancing Apsaras that are brilliantly carved are something that would surely catch your attention.
The Government of Cambodia has initiated several long-term rural development programs for the natives wherein one can avail an opportunity to learn the arts of their ancestors. The primeval customs of weaving, sculpting and carving have conceded from generations to generations that have ultimately boosted the Culture of Cambodia.
The Bassac Crafts Center along with other organizations like Sobbhana Foundation, Lotus Pond, the School of Fine Arts Association, Tabitha, Wat Than Crafts, Khemara House, JSRC, the Women's Association of Cambodia and Krousar Thney; aims at supporting the poor families of the area by selling their crafts and handicrafts thereby inspiring the culture of traditional Art and Crafts in Cambodia .
Paintings
Cambodia is a land nurtured by one great empire, the Khmer Empire, and shattered by a despotic dictatorship the Khmer Rouge. The empire had many great builders and many great temples, the most famous being Angkor Wat and the Bayon. Angkor Wat can be considered an earthly representation of the sacred mountain, Mount Meru; with it's five peaks, it's moat, it's reflections in water, and it's mystique at sunrise. The Bayon in contrast is considered the Mona Lisa of Cambodia, with it's enigmatic faces, who do they represent, what do they represent?
Today many tears and many centuries after the demise of the empire, the country is starting to rise again. The task will be long, the task will be arduous. Their art depicts Cambodian history, their temples, their tears, sometimes their despair, sometimes their daily life, but always their determination to succeed.
Others
Silver smithing
Silversmithing in Cambodia dates back centuries. The Royal Palace traditionally patronized silversmiths' workshops, and silversmiths remain concentrated at Kompong Luong, near the former royal capital Oudong. Silver was made into a variety of items, including weaponry, coins, ceremonial objects used in funerary and religious rituals, and betel boxes. During Cambodia's colonial period, artisans at the School of Fine Art produced celebrated silverwork, and by the late 1930s there were more than 600 silversmiths. Today, silverwork is popular for boxes, jewellery, and souvenir items; these are often adorned with fruit, fire, and Angkor-inspired motifs. Men produce most of the forms for such work, but women often complete the intricate filigree.[8]
Ceramics
Cambodian pottery traditions date to 5000 BCE. Ceramics were mostly used for domestic purposes such as holding food and water. There is no evidence that Khmer ceramics were ever exported, though ceramics were imported from elsewhere in Asia beginning in the 10th century. Ceramics in the shape of birds, elephants, rabbits, and other animals were popular between the 11th and 13th centuries.[9]
Potting traditionally was done either on a pottery wheel or using shaping tools such as paddles and anvils. Firing was done in clay kilns, which could reach temperatures of 1,000–1,200 °C, or in the open air, at temperatures of around 700 °C. Primarily green and brown glazes were used. In rural Cambodia, traditional pottery methods remained. Many pieces are hand-turned and fired on an open fire without glaze. The country's major center for pottery is Kompong Chhnang Province. [9]
In modern Cambodia, the art of glazed ceramics faded into oblivion: the technique of stoneware stop to be used around 14th century, at the end of Angkor era. Today this technique begin a slow revival through a Belgian ceramist who founded the Khmer Ceramics Revival Center, in Siem Reap, the organization lead vocational training and researches about this lost skill.