Finally here is another ART SUNDAY, and another pearl from treasure of India… Today I have selected another craft form, which is obviously an ART form in my view… Here you will find a great blend of carving plus painting… all pieces you are watching are hand-made… I must say those hands are also very precious …Right? You’ll find carvers of wood right through the country. Life in India, one is forced to acknowledge, simply cannot happen without them. They are quite vital to the Indian way of life: they model wooden deities; they decorate our places of worship; they fashion all sorts of utensils like ladles, cooking spoons, and the critical rolling pins (to make chapattis of course); they carve windows and doors of many a home in rural India; and they make exquisite furniture.
Woodwork goes back a long time. Brihatsamhita, an early 6th century text by Varahmihira, holds forth about the sanctity of wood, specifying the type and use of trees. Certain trees are suitable for icons while others would probably be better used in houses and buildings.
Exquisite Woodcarvings in India In the good old days of kings and nawabs, woodcarving was essentially seen as an adjunct to architecture. Any palace or haveli worth its name had to have incredibly carved doors, windows and jalis (lattice work). The Mysore Palace and the havelis of Old Delhi, Kashmir and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan are a good example of such work. In recent times architectural commissions have dwindled to nothing. Consequently, artisans have turned their hand to more commercially viable options like artifacts, wooden plaques and furniture for urban homes. Master craftsmen can, however, still be found in the states of Kashmir, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
Kashmir:- Elaborately worked walnut lamps, boxes, table tops and screens.
Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh:- Furniture, decorative items and utensils made from white dudhi wood and the heavily grained brown shisham.
Rajasthan: - Carved and painted horse, elephants and parrots.
Karnataka: - Sandalwood and rosewood boxes and caskets and statues of every imaginable figure of the Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Christian faiths.
Andhra Pradesh: - Images of Lord Venkateswara. Gujarat, Delhi, Mysore (Karnataka), Hoshiarpur (Punjab): - Inlay work using colored woods, horn and even plastic.
Jaipur (Rajasthan) & Manipuri (Uttar Pradesh): - Inlay work known as tarkashi using burnished copper or brass wire which is set in the wood to create geometric or floral patterns.
Wooden Inlay Work : Inlay work on wood may almost be considered a form of embroidery on wood. The materials used for inlaying are ivory bone and metals such as copper and brass wire. Veneering, marquetry and applique works are other forms of ornamenting wooden articles.
FEW MORE LINKS:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Wood_carving
http://www.kamat.com/database/content/handicrafts/wooden_crafts.htm
http://www.wooden-handicrafts.com/wood-statues-exporters.html
http://www.wooden-handicrafts.com/products/
NOTE : All information & pictures in this blog are taken from various sites searched thru' google !
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