Beyond the Temple Veil

From selecting the right tree to carving the base and stretching the hide, every traditional step of drum-making is meticulously followed in Gitega, the beating heart of Burundi’s ancient ingoma culture. Oscar Nshimirimana, the chief of the drummers, shares his craft with Cabana.

High up amid the mountains of Peru, the last children of the Incas weave together heritage and meaning, shadow and light. Rebeca Vaisman and Antonio Sorrentino capture their uniquely traditional craft processes and ways of life for Cabana Magazine Issue 24.

The once thriving and lively world of bell casting has fallen almost silent in this modern age, finds art historian and broadcaster James Fox, the author of Craftland. Yet one mighty foundry still rings out, loud and clear: John Taylor & Co. in Loughborough.

Pichvai painting, born centuries ago in Rajasthan, combines divine allegory, miniatures, and artisan mastery—once nearly lost, now beautifully revived after years of decline.

In his French studio, Geoffrey Luff revives Bernard Palissy’s ceramic art using roadkill and molds. His detailed, lifelike creations blend nature, science, and craftsmanship with remarkable precision and personal dedication.

Philip Sale, Asprey's Master Engraver, has been meticulously engraving silver for more than half a decade. His skills have seen him engrave some of the world's most iconic emblems - from major sporting trophies to royal commissions. Founded in 1781, Asprey continues to be appointed as premier silversmiths to heads of state, royalty and discerning aesthetes worldwide, with Philip's careful hands adding the finishing, and most meaningful, flourish to these enduring works of craftsmanship. He shares his story with Cabana.

In Friesland, on the edge of the former Zuiderzee, a small community developed a costume unlike any other in the Netherlands. The Hindeloopen dress was not only distinctive in appearance but remarkable in its making, combining imported textiles with local forms in a tradition of craft that carried both meaning and memory.

A true custodian of decorative tradition, Roger Newton began his career in 1955 at the legendary Colefax and Fowler studio, where he mastered the art of furniture painting, gilding and lacquering. His King’s Road workshop soon became renowned for its refined craftsmanship, attracting commissions from private collectors and historic houses alike. Now based in Shropshire, Roger continues to teach the centuries-old techniques of gilding and painted finishes.

With a background in oil painting and a formative apprenticeship, Giovanni Bressana approaches his craft with the fervour of a true vocation. Today, he is among the most sought-after fresco artists working in the field. His style shifts effortlessly across subjects and historical periods, a versatility honed through years of rigorous training, during which he tirelessly practiced exacting copies of the Old Masters and disciplined his hand to move with speed and precision.

Among the most exquisite and culturally resonant forms of Indigenous American artistry, Washoe basketry stands testament to ancestral knowledge, dexterous craftsmanship, and the intimate dialogue between maker and material. A new book by Rizzoli celebrates a technique that has always been present in American collections, revealing the profound meanings - linked to cosmology, family memories, and a strong sense of unity between utility and beauty - that Native women have infused into natural fibers for generations.

Nestled within a historic courtyard with distinctive yellow walls, the Fumagalli and Dossi Gypsotheque stands today as the only surviving heir of the gypsotheques tradition. The plaster reproductions are still handcrafted by the two artisans after whom the workshop is named, drawing on a captivating archive of moulds passed down by their predecessors to shape their sculptural repertoire.

Ebony Russell’s porcelain sculptures might look like confections, swirls of piped icing frozen mid-drip, but they are anything but delicate. Using a technique that transforms cake decorating into architectural form, Russell crafts gravity-defying pieces that celebrate excess, ornament, and the overlooked beauty of feminine coded traditions. Working in her Sydney studio, she reclaims decoration as structure.