crafts of india
TRANSCRIPT
Religions- creating life
By:
DHAIRYATA JAIN
CRAFTS OF
INDIA
PHULKARI AND BAGH
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The traditional craft of
Punjab
Flower working
Odni, dupatta and shawls
Bagh-the garments that
cover the whole body
Usually wore on
ceremonial occasions or
the birth of a son
Whole work done in white
and yellow silk floss on
cotton khaddar using Darn
stich
Starts from center and
goes on
Worn by women
CHAMBAL RUMAL
Himachal Pradesh
Made of fine cotton and muslin
Embroidered by silk and silver and silver guilt wire
Embroidery is done on a double satin stitch technique which ensured an exact replication of the image on the reverse of the fabric.
Subjects are drawn by the women in outlines
Charcoal was used for tracing
Motifs: related to lord Krishna
Silk embroidered square pieces of handspun and hand-woven unbleached mulmul, fine cloth that were used to cover dishes of food, gifts, to significant persons and offering to a deity, or exchange between the families of the bride and the groom as token of good will.
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WARLI PAINTINGS
Maharashtra’s folk paintings
The largest tribe found on the outskirts of Mumbai
Vivid expression of daily and social events of the tribe
Done on walls
Do not depict mythological characters
Depict social life
Rhythmic pattern
Human figures engaged in activities
Painted on mud using white and yellow and red [occasionally]
White color-grounding rice
Evoke powers of god
Series of dots makes a line
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MADHUBANI
Village in Bihar
Colors are applied flat with
no shading
Outline-double line
Generally depict nature and
Hindu motifs
Depict scenes
Traditionally done on wet
muddy walls of houses
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LAC WARE
Produced by the female lac
insect found in abundance in
the forests of Rajasthan, is
formed into a variety of jewelry
items.
Lac bangles are worn especially
on auspicious occasions and
also signify that the wearer is
married
Colors are bright and
frequently studded with glass
pieces.
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KUNDAN JADAU
Kundan is a Mughal technique.
High skilled craftsmanship
The tradition of Jadau work has
been in practice in the states of
Rajasthan and Gujarat since the
Mughal Era.
Jadau jewellery is also called
Engraved Jewellery and is unique
and a kind in itself.
Considered to be a traditional
jewelry of India, it is used in many
traditional and auspicious
occasions, like marriages and
festival celebrations.
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TANGKA PAINTINGS
A Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton,
or silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist
deity, scene, or mandala.
Thangkas are traditionally kept unframed
and rolled up when not on display, mounted
on a textile backing somewhat in the style
of Chinese scroll paintings
relatively small
These were designed to be displayed,
typically for very brief periods on a
monastery wall, as part of religious festivals.
A central "deity" is often surrounded by
other identified figures in a symmetrical
composition. Narrative scenes are less
common, but do appear.
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KASHIDAKARI
Kashmiri embroidery(also Kashida) is used for
phirans (woollen kurtas) and namdahs (woollen
rugs)as well as stoles
It draws inspiration from nature. Birds,
blossoms and flowers, creepers, chinar leaves,
ghobi, mangoes, lotus, and trees are the most
common themes.
The entire pattern is made with one or two
embroidery stitches, and mainly chain stitch on
a base of silk, wool and cotton: the colour is
usually white, off-white or cream but nowadays
one can find stoles and salwar-kameez sets in
many other colours such as brown, deep blue,
sky blue, maroon and rani pink
The craftsmen use shades that blend with the
background
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BLUE POTTERY
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The art of making blue glaze pottery came
to Rajasthan via Kashmir, the Mughal
emperors’ favourite retreat and, more
importantly, their entry point into India.
Mongol artisans combined Chinese
glazing technology with Persian
decorative arts
Jaipur blue pottery, made out of Egyptian
paste, is glazed and low-fired. No clay is
used: the 'dough' for the pottery is
prepared by mixing quartz stone powder,
powdered glass, Multani Mitti , borax,
gum and water
The colour palette is restricted to blue
derived from the cobalt oxide, green from
the copper oxide and white, though other
non-conventional colours, such as yellow
and brown are sometimes included.
GOTA PATTI
A form of metal embroidery which
originated in Rajasthan.
It is crafted using appliqué
technique with a strip of gold or
silver or various other coloured
ribbons of different widths woven
in a satin or twill weave.
It involves placing woven gold cloth
onto fabrics such as georgette or
bandhini to create different surface
textures.
Plastic Gota and is highly durable
as it has a good resistance to
moisture and does not tarnish as
opposed to metal based Gota.
The process is lengthy and time
consuming.
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PATTU WEAVING
THE MEGHWAL COMMUNITY weave local wool into narrow strips, or patti, that are then stitched together to form wide shawls known as pattu that are worn by members of all communities in the region.
The base cloth of the pattu is in either plain or twill-weaves and the motifs are created through the use of the extra weft is usually of a colour in contrast to the base cloth and is inserted after every two picks, thus producing an impression of finely embroidered fabric.
The pattu constitute an important element in local rituals among the Meghwal, the pattu weaving community, pattu form a part of the gifts given to the prospective groom`s family when fixing a marial alliance; they are also gifted to all the immediate relatives to the groom during the marriage ceremony.
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PHAD PAINTING
A style religious scroll painting and folk painting, practiced in Rajasthan state of India.
This style of painting is traditionally done on a long piece of cloth or canvas, known as phad.
The ancient tradition of scroll painting survives in Rajasthan as Phad.
A Phad is a long rectangular cloth painting that tells of the adventures and travails of Pabuji, a local hero or other epic heroes.
The Phad is painted in bold colors and is rolled on two shafts of bamboo, thus making it easy to carry.
The large-scale horizontal paintings on cloth portraying the epic lives of the local hero-gods are popularly known as Phad paintings. These paintings have the mammoth task of representing a complex and a full blown folk epic narrative, which it achieves through a very specific style of representation, filled with figures & pictorial incidents, these paintings form a kind of dramatic backdrop to epic story telling performances.
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BLOCK PRINTING OF BAGRU AND SANGANER
Practiced in the vicinity of Jaipur and share a common
vocabulary of bel(creepers), buta and buti (floral motifs
of varying sizes) and jaal(floral net).
Sanganer`s graceful curvilinear floral motifs and colour
palette of reds and blacks printed against sun-bleached
white, cream or grey-blue backgrounds are defined as
much by its employment of the direct printing technique
as the Mughal influenced aesthetic prevalent at the
court.
Dyed and mordant prints of Bagru catered to the folk,
trading, agricultural and artisan communities that
constituted the local population. Each of these
communities had a specific sartorial code; the
combination of colours and motifs used on a printed
skirt, veil or garment could identify the wearer`s
community and occupation as well as the season.
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KANTHA
Kantha is a type of embroidery popular in eastern South Asia, especially Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal and Odisha. In Odisha old saris are stacked on each other and hand-stitched to make a thin piece of cushion. This is normally used above a bed cushion or instead of a cushion. The use of kantha is popular in "Kantha saris" traditionally worn by women in Bengal.
Kantha stitching is also used to make simple quilts, commonly known as Nakshi Kantha. Women in Bengal typically use old saris and cloth and layer them with kantha stitch to make a light blanket, throw or bedspread, especially for children. Kantha is very popular with tourists visiting Bengal and is a specialty of Bolpur, West Bengal, India.
Kantha is still the most popular form of embroidery practised by rural women. The traditional form of Kantha embroidery was done with soft dhotis and saris, with a simple running stitch along the edges
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KALAMKARI
Kalamkari designs: The women figures are always shown in yellow tones. The celestial gods with an aura are always painted blue. The evil demons are featured in red and green shades.
The art form emerged from the temples, religious themes are most popular and striking.
The iconic figures of gods and goddesses are very common too. Often a painting or a saree will feature the sun chariot in its glory.
The red is sourced from madder root or pomegranate seed. Black comes from myrobalam.
The hands of the artists are naturally free while they paint. Hence no two panels look similar. This is a trademark of an original piece.
Textiles featuring household items have classic, linear block prints.
All Kalamkari designs, patterns and prints are still made from natural vegetable dyes and not harmful chemicals.
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