On 1 September 2026, the Gabenski Gallery in Tryavna hosted the first official event of the Pavone d’Oro Foundation: a public lecture titled ‘Ornament and Sacrality’.
The Foundation was registered in 2026. Zlatko Paunov, donor to NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ and an honorary citizen of Tryavna, was one of its founders.
Zlatko Paunov is well known to the Tryavna community. Through the ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ Fund, he made donations to the Municipality of Tryavna. Thanks to him, the Museum of Asian and African Art was established in the town.
The event was a joint initiative of NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ Gabenski Gallery, and the Foundation. Pavone d’Oro is dedicated to promoting a deeper understanding of Asia’s cultures, arts, and contemporary societies, through creating and disseminating various learning resources.
The lecture was prepared in May 2026 on the occasion of this year’s European Night of Museums, and has since been delivered in Sofia and at the Regional Museum of History in Haskovo. It elaborates on the theme of the parallel between painting on sacred Ficus leaves (Kerala, India) and the Bulgarian Revivalist custom of painting on dried ivy leaves (Tryavna). It makes a comparison between the two forms of folk art that arose in various places around the world.