GUJARAT

EMBROIDERY ARTS AND CRAFT PAINTINGS RURAL FURNITURES

Gujarat State is a home for exquisite and vibrant wooden handicraft. The traditional artwork of Gujrat includes wide array of furniture, jewelry, metal work items, embroidered garments, colourful linen, leather work, bead work, mirror work etc. Utensils are another area where the craftspersons of Gujarat have excelled. Gujarat is also famous for its terracotta work, especially votive terra-cotta figurines which one can find, at small shrines built in forests, along roads, outside villages, on lonely hill-tops and under large trees, especially in south Gujarat.

Lacquered Furniture
Another handicraft industry found in the Southern Gujarat is the lacquered furniture of Sankheda near Vadodara. The Sankheda is famous for its furniture that exhibits unique identity and antique art in Indian traditional handicrafts. Wood is rounded with tools and painted with floral and abstract designs in bright shades of gold, silver, maroon, green, vermilion, and brown by using sticks dipped in a coloured mixture of dyes, powdered zinc, lac and resin. After this process, they are burned in the burning coal leaving the coat of lacquer behind which is smoothened with the leaf of Kewda tree. This furniture exhibits - delicateness and requires great care for their preservation. They have to be protected from direct sun light or heat as they may loose their glow or colours fade. Requires only a piece of dry cloth avoiding the use of oil or water. Lacquered furniture similar to that of Sankheda is also made in Mahuva near Bhavnagar, Surat and Kutch.

Cane and Bamboo Style of Gujarat

Cane and bamboo have swayed their way into the tribal culture of Gujarat. Cane and bamboo are interwoven to form flexible matted surfaces which are then used in the fabrication of other products. Tribals of Baroda make baskets, masks, flutes. Ambapada is famous for decorative articles made from bamboo roots. Range of Techniques Sculpting Matting Panorama of Cane and Bamboo Products Votive Offerings Jewelry and trinkets Musical Instruments Decorative Bits and pieces Home Decor Kitchen Specials Toys Wall Art

Wood Craft
Wood often plain sometimes painted is used for making artefacts to furniture. Wood crafts include-Candle holders, wooden fruit, tray-side table, nut & salad bowls, decorative tableware and a range of cutlery. Wood carving is another important craft in Gujarat and exquisite wood carvings can be observed in the temples, havelis and many houses in various parts of Gujarat. The major centres of wood carvings are Visnagar, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Mahuva, and Bilimora. Junagadh and Doraji in Rajkot district are famous for cradles with stands, cupboards with cubicles and jhula or swing which are typical of Gujarat. Wood inlay work of Surat is famous and involves placing of pieces of ivory, plastic, horn, bone, metal, and fine wires into carved surfaces. The wood on which inlay work is done include teak rose wood, or sandalwood.

 Artifacts include- a range of animals as horses, elephants and parrots beautifully painted. Boxes, chests, snuff boxes. Dancing figures and Dwarpals-guardians of doors. Sandalwood boxes from Surat are very popular. Parrot motif is used to highlight architectural features and ornament lid handles, door brackets, edges and corners of chests.

Leather Embroidery of Gujarat

The artisans of Bhuj create the most strikingly vibrant leather panels using multicoloured threads, mirrors and cotton cloth. The leather, goat hide for mirrors/ panels and camel hide for footwear, is cut into the desired shape and dyed if required. The leather is then punched with designs after which coloured cotton cloth is attached behind the punched patterns as a backing. The leather is finally hand-stitched into the shape and decorated further by hand- stitching along the seams. The tools used are needles for stitching leather seams and punches with different shapes to make holes and patterns in the leather.

Embroidery work

Embroidery on leather bags

Leather Craft of Gujarat

The artisans of Gujarat are involved in making several utilitarian and decorative items out of leather, of which, footwear is the main attraction. The locally available hide is treated with water, latex and lime in a big jar embedded in the ground. A red tint to the leather is got by adding the babul tree. The hide is then stitched up like a bag and filled with a solution for a further period of three to four days after which the stitches are untied. The leather is used to manufacture various articles like mojdis, sapats, batwas, bags, horse pattas, fans, bells, mirror frames and cushion covers. High raised leather seats with geometrical patterns, called pidis, are made in Gujarat Panorama of Leather Products Decorative Bits and pieces Home Dcor Footwear Mens Accessory

Patchwork of Gujarat
Patch work in India is mainly associated with the westernmost states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Also known as piercing, patchwork involves joining together pieces of fabric into a larger design. Various coloured and patterned fabrics of different shapes and sizes are joined together on a plain background and the stitches of the patches are not hidden but are done with jazzy shades which get highlighted, adding a more artistic appeal. Glaring motifs of trees, birds and animals in bold colors can be seen in each patchwork item. Patchwork is done on quilts, bedcovers, wall hangings, cusion covers etc.

Metal work of Gujarat

Metal artisans of Gujarat are known as Kansaras Metal work of Gujarat includes jewelry making as filigree work, open wirework, carving, etc. Metal work of Gujarat involves enamelling which is another artistic craft. Besides jewelry, the metal craft of gujarat includes items made of iron beetle nut crackers, copper coated iron bells, knives and cutlery. It has also excelled in making metal utensils of copper, brass & iron. Metal lamps, boxes for storing betal leaf & nut, nutcrackers, large dowry containers are a few other examples of metal crafts of gujarat. Range of Techniques Casting Smelting Engraving Hand Beating Emossed

Clay work of Gujarat

Gujarat is also famous for its terracotta work, especially votive terracotta figurines. Each terracotta figurine or object has been offered to a deity or spirit and has a special significance. The small domain house-the spirit to live in, the representation of parts of the human body- appeasement, and the horses-offering when vows are fulfilled. Gujarat's Clay wall Hangings are unique pieces of art. Also called Leaper work" or "mud work" it is ancient form of art from rural Gujarat. The base usually is hardboard or some light wood. The patterns may be geometric or animal and bird figures. Abstract human figures are also made. They are usually made with the ceramic clay commonly available there though mud may also be used. They are then coloured and adorned with tiny mirrors.

RAJASTHAN
EMBROIDERY ARTS AND CRAFT PAINTINGS RURAL FURNITURES

Rajasthan - the land of vibrant colours is rich of art & culture. Major craft traditions in Rajasthan include Tie-and-Dye Textiles, Hand block Printing, Quilting, Jewellery, Gems and Stones, Blue Pottery, Leather Craft, Woodcarving, and local Painting traditions. Metal craft has also been an integral part of Indian culture. The 'lotas' or water pitchers are found in almost all parts of the country. Stone carving is both an artistic as well as an industrial product.

Minakari Furniture
Minakari or Enamelling is the art of painting, colouring and ornamenting the surface of metals by fusing over it brilliant colours that are decorated in an intricate design. Minakari furniture from Rajkot, is as attractive as Sankheda furniture. Minakari Furniture is another variety of contemporary furniture available in Rajasthan. Furniture pieces such as wall brackets, temples, chests,drawers, cupboards, chairs etc are available with meenakari work Jaipur is the main hub of minakari furniture in India.

Silver Furniture
Silver Furniture of Rajasthan is widely acclaimed. Most popularly available pieces of furniture include silver coffee tables, silver chairs, silver temples, silver sofa sets, silver day beds, silver love seat chairs, silver swings etc. The silver work is inlaid first, followed by chasing, embossing and engraving all done with a steel hammer while the floral designs and other motifs require special punch tools to give the final product a well finished look.

Wooden Furniture
Wood Furniture of Rajasthan is incomparable. Intricate latticework and ornamental design precedes in the design of wood furniture here. It is also noted for beautiful paintings with overall aesthetic and functional appeal. The white metal plated Patra furniture has a charm of its own.

Marble Carving work

Marble objects range from decorative plates to boxes and animal figures. White marble is painted, sometime with real gold. Even miniature paintings are done on marble. Jaipur is the main centre for exquiste marble objects.

Leather work
Leather shoes known as jootis or mojdis (shoes decorated with beautiful embroidery) are made in Jaipur and Jodhpur. Embroidery known as kashida is done on the jootis and this embroidery is mainly done by the women. Leather is also used for bookbinding. Bikaner is especially famous for its minakari on camel hide, and golden minakari in the palaces of Bikaner. Other uses - making backs of chairs embroidered with woolen motifs, handbags, saddles, pouches, lampshades, waterpots, hip flasks and perfume vases are part of rajasthan leather craft.

Metal work
Brass, bronze, silver and gold are used extensively in Rajasthan metal work. Beautifully patterned jewellery boxes and caskets, candle stands, incense stick stand (agarbatti dan), chunky jewellery, daggers, idols and figurines of deities, birds, animals etc are cast out of shiny silver. The Marori work, involves the etching of intricate designs on the metal surface and filling in the grooves with black lac, a resin. The ridges of the design stand out and glitter against the black background. When the Marori work is done on a brass sheets and the lac used is black the art is known as Chrakwan. Other colored lac is also used and other metals too. Artisans of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur specialize in Marori work. Brass is another metal used in abundance in Rajasthani handicrafts. Vases, bowls, utensils, lamps, jewel boxes, figurines of peacocks, lions, parrots, flowering shrubs and photo frames are made of brass Koftagari or the art of inlaid metal work is famous in Alwar and Jaipur. Lacquering and enameling of metal ware are common practices in Rajasthan.

Stone work
The stone craft of Rajasthan involves usage of stones Granites, Marbles, Quartzite, Slates, etc. Jali (latticework) carvings sculpted from sandstone & marble were frequently used in windows of the Zenanas (womens chamber) for viewing events. Stone articles include-figurines of dieties and utensils-bowls for grinding spices and kneading dough. The soft pink sandstone, tamara stone are used or making these items. Other stone works include-staircases, furniture, tableware, etc.

Papier-mache
Waste paper and clay mixed together produces a beautiful and ethnic looking pulp known as paper mache. Toys from paper mache are well made in Jaipur, in an attractive blend of colours and artistic imaginatation. Artists at Palai in Tonk make beautiful paper mache furniture. Banasthali is known for its attractive multipurpose bowls.

Terracotta
Paper-thin pottery, painted pottery, white and red clay articles and terracotta wall plaques. Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Alwar and Bikaer are the main centres. Storage jars painted white and decorated with tiny mirrors are common in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Molela in Rajasthan excels in sculpted terracotta plaques and icons of Rajput heroes and Hindu deities. These plaques are used as decorative elements in walls.

Clay work-Blue pottery

Blue pottery is new art form done with a distinctive material like the ground quartz stone The color schemes are also peculiar like, blue (oxide of cobalt), Green (oxide of copper) and the external white. Nowadays even shades of yellow, dark blue and brown are used. The conventional floral or arabesque, hand made patterns and the animal figure patterns are the prominent designs. The various articles shaped out are mostly the traditional ones like surahis or pots of different shapes and size for multiple use, ashtray, tiles, flower pots, lamp shades, jars various accessories or interior items.