Traditional 'patayi' cedar screens are unique to the ancient cities of the Northwest frontier. In the old city of Kabul they clad the inner walls of courtyards or project over
the narrow streets. Their panels combine Middle-Easter floral arabesques, pagan geometric designs, and 'jali' lattice work. They can be used as windows, doors, shutters, balconies and internal screens. In Afghanistan the patayi are closed for winter, encasing the courtyard in a cedar box. In the summer they are opened, creating a colonnade flooded with light and air.
Turquoise Mountain is the last commercial producer of Patayi screens and is training a new generation of craftsmen to preserve the tradition.
Carved in the classic Kabuli manner of solid Himalayan cedar. These screens are made to order.
