This article continues the visual ethnography series using images and close observation to examine how people live, make meaning, and give those meanings form in practice. Please refer to the Index of Artscapes and Articles for other works that may be of interest.
Plate note: Khor Mandal (Mong. Хор Мандал) is located in the Olympic Galleria Mall (2nd floor) on Olympic Street next to the Shangrila Mall in downtown Ulaanbaatar. My dear friend Dugarjav Munkhtsetseg, otherwise know as Mono, opened her speciality shop in this location four years ago, although her business was first established 8 years ago, in 2017. She is the owner. As long as I’ve know her, now going back twenty years and more, she has been preoccupied with designing and making her own jewellery, not just for customers but also for family and friends. Khor Mandal (Mong. Хор Мандал) in Ulaanbaatar. 24 September 2025. Photograph: C.Pleteshner for CPinMongolia.com.
Plate note: Munkhtsetseg’s daughter, the talented Otgonbaatar Udiyana, recently joined her mother’s business after returning from studying in China. She too has now begun creating her own jewellery designs using a wide range of natural stones, crystals and additional adornments just like her mother. Now, how wonderful is that? I rejoice in their collaboration! Khor Mandal (Mong. Хор Мандал) in Ulaanbaatar. 24 September 2025. Photograph: C.Pleteshner for CPinMongolia.com.
Plate note: Simple and elegant (custom-made) Erhi (Mong. Эрхи: Sanskrit & English. Mala) either of modern or traditional design, are Munkhtsetseg’s and Udiyana’s speciality. It’s so interesting to stay and watch the delicate precision with which they each work. Khor Mandal (Mong. Хор Мандал) in Ulaanbaatar. 24 September 2025. Photograph: C.Pleteshner for CPinMongolia.com.
Plate note: From this one location, you can also buy exquisite mulberry silk brocades imported by Munkhtsetseg from India (Mong. Энэтхэг гар нэхмэл торго). The wide and constantly changing range of quality fabrics vary in price from the expensive (per metre) to those less so. Discounts are available for ‘by the bolt’ purchases. Khor Mandal (Mong. Хор Мандал) in Ulaanbaatar. 24 September 2025. Photograph: C.Pleteshner for CPinMongolia.com
In Mongolia, mulberry silk brocade, a rich and durable fabric, is still being used for high-status clothing like robes and formal wear, particularly for important festivals and diplomatic occasions, as well as for home decor such as curtains and upholstery, creating an elegant and ornate environment. The use of these luxurious materials historically signified wealth and prestige, with specific patterns and colours conveying symbolic meaning within Mongolian society and social circles.
I am also pleased to report, that even now (2025) not everyone in Mongolia has succumbed to the globalising trend of wearing ‘western’ style working apparel. Here I’m channelling (designer?) navy blue suites, white shirts and colourful ties, of which, this year here in Mongolia, there is certainly no shortage. In terms of vestments, this recent shift by Mongolian people in Ulaanbaatar, both younger and older, towards corporate-style dressing is one of the most pronounced socially-visible changes I am noticing this year.
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FURTHER READING
Moving from artisanal objects to musical material culture, Out and About 15: Egshiglen considers the preservation and notation of traditional Mongolian music for piano, another way cultural lineages are given form in contemporary Ulaanbaatar.
For the ritual life in which objects such as erhi continue to be used, Letter from Letter from Mongolia 23: The Maidar Procession documents Buddhist practice and monastic memory at Delgeriin Choira Monastery.
Shifting from crafted objects to embodied practice, Out and About 12: Guigen Qigong considers movement, health and spiritual discipline within everyday Mongolian life.
End of transcript.
Refer to the INDEX for other articles that may be of interest.
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© 2013-2026. CP in Mongolia. “Artscape 15: Хор Мандал (Khor Mandal)” is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Open access should not be understood as the absence of attribution. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions. Posted: 27 September 2025. Last updated: 28 September 2026. |