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The state is renowned the world over for its hand-printed textiles, jewellery, painting, furniture, leatherwork, pottery and metal craft. The use of exuberant colours and ornate, romantic designs distinguish all Rajasthani art form.
The bazaars spill with produce, as vibrant colours swish swash around - they dance on textiles and fabrics, glow in-between gold settings and are woven into rugs and carpets. The amazing variety is due, mainly to the patronage of Rajasthan’s princely rulers.
Not all Rajasthani crafts however, have originated locally. Rajasthan was on the ancient trade route, which exposed its people to different cultures and traditions. Traces of these can be still seen in the various art forms.
Rajasthani crafts have emerged not as a decorative feature, but as essential parts of their lives. They embellish their utensils, colour their clothes, wear chunky jewellery and embroidered shoes – all in an attempt to enliven the dull desert surroundings. TOP^
Antiques : Though not all of them actually qualify as antiques and many in fact are new, these are objects of daily use that exercise a fascination among most urban visitors. They can be found in small shops in places all over Rajasthan, as well as in large handicraft stores and are part of the landscape of the state.
Of course, for most it would be impossible to think of ‘using’ them in their homes, but they do make attractive, decorative objects. Take the large oil jars for example: they are cylindrical, slim and look like straight out of Alibaba’s adventures. In Rajasthan, they’re still used for storing oil, their shape appropriate for hitching on to a camel’s side. Often, these are also painted in the pichwai style, with scenes of lovers. Made of iron, they are available in a variety of sizes. While not a typical souvenir, they are often bought simply because they look attractive or for use as a planter.
Similarly, various kitchen utensils, votive objects, even camel saddles, form a link between the Rajasthani way of life and its immediate surroundings.
Pottery : Pottery is an age-old craft of Rajasthan and different parts of the state produce different kinds of pottery.
Blue Glazed Pottery: Jaipur is famous for blue glazed pottery. This art of blue pottery was introduced to India by the Muslims and popularised by Maharaja Ram Singh of Jaipur. The pottery is distinctly different from the others for it is made of ground quartz stone, fuller’s earth and sodium sulphate, instead of simple clay. Blue and white are the traditional colours used, though more recently, yellow, pink and green are also being used. The technique is employed to make a variety of products like tiles, vases, bowls, mugs, urns, doorknobs and even costume jewellery. Most pieces are hand-painted with conventional floral patterns, figures of animals and scenes from the lives of the royal families.
Terra-cotta pottery: is hugely popular in Rajasthan. Every village has a resident potter who not only produces domestic vessels, but is required to produce clay images of the deities for ceremonial purposes. Molela, a village to the north of Udaipur specialises in making these images.
Alwar produces paper-thin pottery, Bikaner is famous for painted pottery tinted with lac colours, while white and red clay articles with geometric designs come from Pokharan.
Carpets and Dhurries : Floor coverings like carpets, hand-woven durries and namdas or soft woollen druggets have been made for centuries in Rajasthan. Rajasthani durries and carpets are exported all over the world.
The dhurrie is ‘the humble cotton carpet’ that was once spread under carpets or beds and has only recently found use as an alternative to woollen carpets. Though it was used as an underlay, the dhurrie was woven on village looms in vibrant designs and motifs. The simplest were in a single colour with contrasting border and the more complicated ones bore geometric patterns or floral designs in a mix of contrasting colours.
Available in a variety of sizes, the dhurrie is woven not only in Jaipur, but also in villages all over the state. In places such as Bikaner and Jaisalmer, where the temperatures can dip alarmingly, woollen dhurries made of camel hair are very much in vogue.
Carpets: The art of carpet weaving in Rajasthan has been an ancient one. Initially, huge carpets were specially woven for royal residences. Inspired by the Mughals, prisoners were employed at looms, a tradition that has continued to date. Bikaner is still famous for its so-called jail carpets.
The art of carpet weaving was pioneered by Maharaja Man Singh I of Amber who summoned weavers from Herat, a famous carpet centre in Afghanistan, to set up looms and train local weavers. No wonder then that Rajasthani hand knotted carpets have a lot in common with the Persian carpets, especially geometric motifs and formal designs, with a border and central motif. The colours of Rajasthani carpets, though, tend to be more exuberant. Today, motifs have been sufficiently localised to include peacocks and other local icons. Jaipur and Bikaner are considered to be the pioneer centres in carpet weaving.
Namdah: Another floor covering that has widespread use in Rajasthan is the namdah or felted rug. The namdah comes in mainly two fashions – embroidered and in appliqué work. Due to their attractive designs and colours, the namdahs have gained popularity as wall hangings also.
Fabrics : Rajatshani fabric is much sought after and widely worn all over. The basic fabric produced by the weaver is printed, dyed or embroidered to get an exotic range. The Rajasthani printer has perfected his art, mixing his vegetable dyes and mineral colours to arrive at unique hues and tones.
Fabric dyers and block printers have used techniques that have survived for as long as their families have been in the trade. Each region has its own motifs and choice of colours, and each settlement uses colours in a particular way. Thus geometric patterns and earth colours are popular in Bagru, while Sanganeri clothes have floral patterns in bright colours.
Printing: Block printing and batik are the two forms of printing widely applied. In block printing, one side of wooden blocks, carved into intricate patterns is dipped in vegetable dyes and printed on cloth. Orange, ochre, red and blue-black colours are popularly used for printing. Sanganer is famous the world over for its block printing. Bagru is another place famous for this art. Batik is a kind of reverse printing. Part of the cloth to be dyed is coated with a dye-resistant substance like wax and the cloth is then dyed. Barmer and Jaisalmer are two popular centres for reverse printing. TOP^
Tie and Dye: This form of printing possibly best identifies Rajasthani fabric. Tie and dye or bandhani is one of the most popular fabric styles all over India. In this, the fabric is tied with threads conforming to a pattern and dyed several times for different colours. The tied portion of the cloth retains the original colour, thus resulting in intricate designs and patterns when the knots are opened up. A variety of styles are used in this technique, chunari (dotted), lahariya (diagonal striped waves) and mothra (large dots) are some of the popular ones. Sikar and Jodhpur are the most popular centres for tie and dye.
Mirror work, appliqué and embroidery: Once the cloth has been dyed and printed, it is further embellished using different techniques of mirror work, embroidery and appliqué work. Women and children work at home and use their inherent talents to create a variety of products in intricate designs and fabulous colour combinations.
Bikaner, Sikar, Jhunjhunu are popular centres for embroidery and appliqué work.
Furniture and wood carving
Furniture: The tradition of furniture making is not very old in Rajasthan. Royal courts or durbars were held on large mattresses spread on the ground and covered with carpets and cushions for support. It was with British influence that furniture making as an art form developed in Rajasthan. Today, Rajasthani furniture, characterised by intricate paintings and carving is extremely popular.
A wooden throne of the Rathore rulers, believed to be the oldest piece of furniture in India is exhibited at the museum in Junagarh fort at Bikaner. Made of wood and lightly carved, it may not inspire awe today, but must have been the power seat of one of the fiercest dynasties to rule over these deserts. TOP^
Rajasthan excels in the art of making ‘old furniture’. Doors and windows, wooden jharokhas, tables with cast iron jaalis, side-boards, chairs, benches, jhoolas or swings and dressers are made to resemble the furniture that was in vogue in havelis a hundred years ago. Some have fretted brass and copper sheets as decorative elements, others are lightly carved, still others are decorated with tiles. While Jaipur is a popular centre, Jodhpur, in particular, is well known for its ‘old’ furniture and Ramgarh in Shekhawati, has become a major centre for its manufacture.
Shekhawati and Bikaner have been the traditional centres for woodwork. Jodhpur and Kishangarh are especially popular for painted wooden furniture. Shekhawati, Bikaner and Ramgarh specialise in making delicately carved wooden doors. Barmer craftsmen specialise in woodcarvings. Other specialised items of furniture include the leather-embroidered chairs of Tilonia and the carved-back, string-bottom chairs of Shekhawati. Marble tops for tables are also popular and screens are available with both painted panels and brass embellishments.
Carving: Woodcarvings have been in vogue in Rajasthan for a long time. Everything, from images of Ganesh to doorkeepers can be found carved on wood. Mostly mango or the local rohira wood is used. Sometimes sandalwood is also used for carving human and animal figures. On a more popular level, visitors will find everything from camels and horses to elephants and parrots that are carved and brightly painted, to carry home as mementos of this fascinating state.
Gesso work: One of the finest crafts to emerge from Bikaner, the inner hide of the camel is used for the purpose. The hide is scraped till it is paper thin and translucent. It is then moulded into various forms of lampshades, hip flasks, perfume phials or vases. It is then painted over with fine gesso work using gold to lend richness to the otherwise bright reds and greens used in the work. TOP^
Jewellery and Gemstones : Jewellery is an important adornment for every Rajasthani - man or woman. The type and amount of jewellery worn by a person indicates his economic and social status. Rajputs prefer gold – even for their feet - while other castes and the tribals wear chunky silver articles.
Bracelets, rings, nose rings, toe rings, anklets, pendants, belts, bangles are all uniquely crafted in each region of Rajasthan. Besides the handmade silver jewellery, exquisite ornaments are made in Jaipur and Jodhpur using emerald, diamond, pearl, garnet, agate and lapis lazuli. Colourfully enamelled gold and silver jewellery is also very popular. Kundan, (precious stone set in gold) jewellery is a specialty of Jaipur.
Rajasthan is one of the largest centres in the world for the hand cutting of gems. It is not unusual to find shops piled with onyx, cat’s eye, lapis lazuli, carnelian, garnets, amethysts and topaz. Even precious stones like rubies, emeralds and diamonds are easily available.
Semi-precious and precious stones at Jaipur are also carved into figurines and statues. A rose-pink quartz may be turned into an elephant, jade shaped into a Krishna figurine and sunstone patterned as Ganesh.
A visit to a goldsmith’s studio can be an amazing experience as you watch the craftsmen work in dimly lit surroundings, using very few tools, mostly unsophisticated and creating some of the finest treasures of the world from such humble areas.
Leather ware :The hides of dead animals have never been put to better use than in Rajasthan, whether as juttees - the embroidered footwear the people wear - or as saddles, bags and pouches. It is even used as backs for chairs after it has been embroidered with woollen motifs. For something so ordinarily functional, it is amazing how the leather - beaten, tanned and dyed - is given over to such consummate artistry. The leather is punched and gouged to create patterns, studded and sequined for effect, and embroidered and stitched so that a pair of slip-on shoes becomes a statement of style. Jaipur and Jodhpur are the traditional centres for juttees. A variety of juttees are available here in different shapes and styles and embroidered with coloured thread. TOP^
Metal crafts : The tradition of metal crafts probably arose from the warrior’s need to embellish his armour. In later years the art of enamelling became merely decorative and in Rajasthan, has been used for everything - from tabletops to wall plates, flasks and for crafting objects d’art. Usually done with brass, it has a tinsel-like quality unless the base itself is heavy enough to carry off the work successfully.
However, the silversmith does a better job with a range of statuary that is stunning once patterned into animal figures, an orchestra of musicians, or caparisoned elephants with human figures atop a howdah. These enamelled silver pieces are some of the finest examples of the jeweller and metal smith working together. Brassware, enamelled, engraved and filigree cut work on silver are available in Rajasthan. Jaipur, Alwar and Jodhpur are prime centres for metal ware.
Paintings : A Rajasthani’s love for colour and art has found expression in the various kinds of paintings that have developed here over the years. Miniature paintings, portrait and courtly paintings, murals, cloth and furniture painting, mehndi or henna, domestic painting and mandana, or the art of decorating houses are some of these.
The miniature paintings of Rajasthan are world famous for their intricate detail and vibrant colours. From the 16th century onwards, various schools of paintings flourished in Rajasthan. Some of the important ones are Mewar, Marwar, Amber, Kishangarh and Hadoti. These paintings vividly render hills, valleys, gardens, palaces, courts and religious processions. Themes from the Ramayana, Krishna Lila and the Gita Govindam have also been pictorially translated. The colours used for the paintings were made of minerals, vegetables, precious stones, conch shells and metals like gold and silver. Jaipur, Jodhpur, Nathdwara and Kishangarh are some of the centres still engaged in this art form.
Of course, there are other forms of painting available too such as the phads or scrolls with their tales of Pabuji and the pichwais with their Krishna legends. The centre for the best pichwais is Nathdwara, near Udaipur, where the paintings are often decorated with precious stones. Pichwais come in a whole range of the totally inexpensive to the incredibly so, depending again on the skill of the artist, a fact you must keep in mind before settling on a price for your purchase. TOP^
Puppets : Walk around Hawa Mahal in Jaipur, and it will require more than human effort not to be attracted by the arrays of puppets on display. The art of puppetry has a long tradition in Rajasthan, but the puppets themselves are fairly simple creations. Mostly, they consist of painted wooden heads draped with dresses made from old fabrics and sequinned for charm. The hands are made simply by stuffing rags or cotton into the sleeve of the dress and filling it out. The quaintest aspect of these puppets is the way their expressions are painted, large expressive eyes with arched eyebrows and a curling moustache for men, or a nose ring for the women. Inexpensive souvenirs, they recall more easily than most other things, memories of a visit to this state of chivalrous kings and beautiful queens.
Stone carving : From Dholpur near Bharatpur to Barmer in the heart of the desert, the chisel of the stone mason is put to incredible use as he commands everything - from pink and red sandstone to marble, tamara and chlorite - to create panels of frescos for buildings, large statuary, planters, figures of gods (usually in marble and crafted almost entirely in Jaipur), and elephants and horses as garden sculpture. Jaipur specialises in making white marble statues of gods and goddess.
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