Inside the Garden Pavillions

 Ok...more on the Humble Administrator's Garden.   In the previous post there were a lot of photos that showed the fairy-tale-like oriental buildings that are integrated into the landscaping.  Each of these buildings is a pavilion.  (Or maybe a balcony or a house or room....the tourist information signs use all of those terms.)  And there are beautiful things on the inside as well as on the outside.

 These structures are usually one large room sheltered by a distinctly Chinese roof that has more curves than Marilyn Monroe.  They are entirely of wood except for the half-barrel clay tiles that are used for the roofs.  The weight of the roof is borne by wooden posts.  Since the enclosing walls are not load bearing, they are able to construct them of decorative, delicate wooden screens.  It's a bit like a cathedral with the woodwork replacing the stained glass.

Normally the pavilions have some type of centerpiece - a tapestry or a painting or some pottery or, many times, just a rock.  The centerpiece is on a table or hanging on the wall behind it.  Arranged around it are chairs and small tables, as if waiting for the garden owner to come sit and contemplate.  And you can imagine the owner opening the screen walls to let every possible bit of breeze pass through on a hot summer day.

 The furniture, especially the chairs, is often inlaid with jade or other polished stone.  Not stones as in jewels.  But stones as in rocks...big, flat, circular hunks of polished rock.  I have no idea what type of wood is used for the furniture or for the construction of the buildings.  But the carpentry is incredible.