Rajasthan
is a well known state of the country as far as the field of arts and crafts
is concerned. You may find every kind of work ranging from stone, clay,
leather, wood, ivory, lac, glass, brass, silver, gold and textiles in their
most brilliant forms.
Jewelery :
Rajasthan is famous for its unique style jewellery. Some of the traditional
designs are rakhri, tirnaniyan, bala, bajuband, gajra, gokhru, jod, etc.
Tribal women wear heavy, simply crafted jewellery and seem to carry the
weight without much discomfort almost all the time. Men too wear their share
of ornaments in the form of chockers and earrings.
Ivory :
The white ivory bangles wore by the Rajasthani females is a craze in India.
Ivory is also inlaid and shaped into intricate items of great beauty.
Miniature paintings were also executed on ivory.
Lac and Glass :
Rajasthan and Lac bangles are synonyms to each other. They are usually in
bright colors and sometimes inlaid with glass. Other decorative and
functional items are also available.
Sandalwood and Wood :
Carved wood is presented in a wide range of objects and is simple and
inexpensive.
Stone :
Statues on religious themes are carved all over Rajasthan and in several
cities there are still entire lanes where the stone carvers can be seen
giving final touches to statues or even pillars. Other crafts like blue
pottery, hand block printing, tie and dye, terracotta sculptures, painting
on camel hide, embroidery, cloth painting, carpets, durries, inlay work on
brass and wood are to be found all over Rajasthan.
Rajasthani paintings :
Rajasthani paintings basically follow devotionalism among the Hindus
depicted legends of Hindu epics such as Lord Krishna and Radha; other
difference came from their bolder use of color and ornamental treatment of
landscape.These paintings are exquisite works of Rajasthani/Mughal painting
done on marble. Rajasthani painting is a style of miniature painting very
similar to Mughal paintings.
Miniatures painting are another form, famous in Rajasthan, developed under
the patronage of various rulers. The are still continues, though with
considerably less patronage, in places like Nathwara, Udaipur and Bikaner,
although most paintings made now are copies of old originals.
Pichvais :
These paintings are those made on pichavais, a kind of fabric, and is used
as backdrops for the statue of the temple deity. Initially, these were made
for different seasons and festivals for use at worship but later they came
to be sold to pilgrims. In this thin layer of starch is applied on the cloth
and painting is done in tempera.
Phad :
Phads are cloth scroll paintings rendered in folk style known, depicting
the lives of local heroes. They tell mostly the story of Pabuji Ramdevji and
Dev Narainji. The use of vibrant, raw colors and bold lines and a two
dimensional treatment of figures with the entire composition arranged in
sections are some of the unique features of these paintings.
