Crafts and Craftsmen

Art is an amalgam of the artist and his creation and a blossoming of the soul. Art replicates God. It sustains life. Art is for art’s sake. It is tender and ethereal and sensitises the human mind. It imitates nature and is perennial. The artist is a valuable creation of the almighty and art is a talent which flourished without patronage from any preceptor or organisation. The longing for creativity lies at the back of the artist’s inspiration. The remarkable fact about the handicrafts of Rajasthan is their utility; they penetrate not only through the classes but also thrive among the tribals and aborigines. They are an inalienable part of rural culture. These handicrafts find expression in myriad forms. Finished and adorned by adroit craftsmen, these artefacts have carved a place for themselves in the world market and the connoisseur’s collection. Crafts and Craftsmen attempts to trace the origin, expansion, popularity and utility of 35 of the most representative handicrafts of Rajasthan. They include textiles Phad (scroll painting), patchwork, glass embroidery of Barmer, Kota Doria, Tie-dyeing-Sanganeri, Akola, Nathdwara, Dabu and Bagru prints; woodcraft (wood carving, puppet-making, Kawad, Toran, Barmer furniture with wire inlay, sandalwood work); Terracotta (Molela plaques, storage bins, blue pottery); sculpture (Talwada and Jaipur); jewellery (silk, thread, bone and paper) and miscellaneous crafts such as ivory carving, carpet and Namdah-making, handmade paper, artefacts of lac and papier mache, Mojadis, Usta art of Bikaner, silver and gold foil, enamel work on gold, brass and Theva art, stained glass painting and paintings studded with semi-precious stones.