Furniture | Wood Craft | Textile | Jewelry | Paintings | Metalware | Carpets | Stone Craft | Leatherware | Terracotta | Blue Pottery | Antiquities

Rajasthan is the home of an astounding variety of traditional crafts. Century-old skills continue to produce some of the most artistic and exciting wares in Rajasthan which are admired and collected not only by connoisseurs in India but are popular all across the world. Rajasthan is a land of vibrant colors. These colors are a striking part of the Rajasthani life and in the traditional paintings & murals. When shopping for souvenirs, the subtle yet ethnic appeal of every item is irresistible whether it be furniture, leatherware, pottery, metal craft or textiles. It is little wonder, therefore, that because of these artistic treasures which let you indulge without being extravagant, Rajasthan has been dubbed as the shopper's paradise. Its crafts have always been a source of fascination whether one appreciates them for purely visual or aesthetic pleasure or pauses to savor the underlying history, culture and symbolism.

The furniture of Rajasthan is in harmony with its palaces and havelis, displaying similar intricate design and carving. The painted furniture of Jodhpur & Kishangarh consists of screens, doors, traditional casket, low tables and chairs. Delicately carved wooden doors are made in Ramgarh, Shekhawati and Bikaner. The crafts men of Barmer specialize in the art of wood carving, especially doors, roofs, cradles, and tables. Tilonia furniture stands out with its fine embroidery work on leather while white metal plated patra furniture has a charm of its own.

Imparting exquisite beauty to chairs, table-tops and lamps is the art of taarkashi (wire inlay) and lacquer work.

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Sandalwood carvings come in a range of objects and themes. The choice is so varied that it is difficult to choose, whether its the desert caravan with tiny camels, or Lord Krishna playing the flute in a divine mood, or nymphs in aesthetic dance poses. For the budget shoppers, also available in fragrant sandalwood, are key chains, paper knives and trinket boxes. The minutely carved wooden blocks used for textile printing are so exquisite that they are highly in demand and are often converted into door knobs or book ends.

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Rajasthani textiles come in an attractive range of hand- block prints, tie & dye and embroidered fabrics with mirror work. The bandhni or tie & dye work comes from Sikar, Jodhpur, Udaipur etc. Light and painstakingly printed Kota Doria sarees are a rage with women during the hot summer season. Handblock printed bedspreads in Ajrak prints wraps & kerchiefs from Nathdwara and embroidered textiles from Barmer.

Rajasthan is the heartland of hand block printing. Sanganer in Jaipur is virtually flooded with block makers and printers. The art of Khari or overprinting in gold is also practiced here. Today, traditional vegetable and mineral dyes are gradually being replaced by chemical ones.

Heart warming textiles, dyed in the bandhni or tie & dye style reign supreme in Rajasthan. The art of bandhni is a highly skilled process. Different methods are used to tie the fabric into small points producing different patterns like Lahariya, Mothda, Ekdali and Shikar. The best bandhni work comes form Sikar and Jodhpur, while Jaipur, Bikaner Barmer. Pali Udaipur and Nathdwara are the other centers.

The women of Rajasthan have mastered the art of embroidering fabrics. Embroidery practiced in Bikaner is done by counting threads. The women of Sikar and Jhunjhunu specialize in making patterns of animals Chain stitch is popular in Alwar. Dancing Figures, flowers and peacocks are the favorite motifs. Women of Barmer use mirrors, thus enhancing the beauty of the embroidered pieces.

In appliqué, different pieces of cloth are patched together to make a multi-colored mosaic. The exotic colors shapes and pattern combinations against contrasting backgrounds catch the eye.

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The craftsmanship of the jewelers of Rajasthan is renowned all over. Jaipur is famous export centre for precious and semi-precious gem stones. Rajasthan excels in a wide range of ornaments using Emerald, Diamond, Pearls, Garnet, Agate, etc. made especially in Jaipur and Jodhpur.

Meenakari is the art of enameling on gold or silver and is done in Jaipur using the raised-field style. Pratpgarh's Meena or Thewa work in gold on a green or red enamel base is exquisite. Kundan is the art of setting precious stones in gold.

Kundan jewelry is exclusive both in terms of design and workmanship. There is a large variety of bangles in Rajasthan.

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The miniature paintings of Rajasthan are renowned the world over. Over a period of time several schools of painting developed in Rajasthan : The Mewar School, Bundi-Kota Kalam, Bikaner, Jaipur, Marwar and Kishangarh schools. It is believed that miniature paintings were being made in Rajasthan as early as the 18the century and later the Mughal court employed the artists.

Today families engaged in miniature paintings exist in Jaipur, Jodhpur Nathdwara and Kishangarh and continue to paint fine works of art on handmade paper. The ancient tradition of scroll painting survives in Rajasthan as Phads and Pichwais in bold vigorous lines and bright primary colors displaying much of the ancient Indian tradition of narrative paintings.

Today pichwais are being painted in Udaipur and Nathdwara. Phad paintings are available in smaller versions with incidents from lives of character like Pabuji, the local hero.

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The metalware of Rajasthan comprises of artistic, enameled and engraved silverware & metalware.

Popular creations in silver include wine cups, silver embossed decorative boxes, decorative human figures, cigarette lighter cases and photo frames. Jaipur is famous for engraved brassware which is usually enameled. Different decorative techniques used include embossing, marodi work and chikan work.

In Koftagari or Damascening work mostly practiced in Alwar and Jaipur, one metal is encrusted into another in the form of a wire. Popular articles are swords, daggers and shields.

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Rajasthan's Floor Covering industry has been revitalized to suit the needs of the modern buyer revitalized to suit the needs of the modern buyer and Rajasthani Carpets are making headway in markets not only in India but abroad as well.

Jaipur and Bikaner are prominent centers of carpet weaving. The carpet design are mostly based on Persian and Caucasian styles. Peacocks and flowers are the popular motifs as well as landscapes and geometric designs.

Also traditional cotton carpets called Durries which are hand-woven with geometric patterns and repeating colors.

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Religious themes are carved in stone all over Rajasthan. The images are life-like and are skillfully sculptured in different varieties of stone. Statues of gods & goddesses, animals and human figures are carved out of white marble in Jaipur. The soft, Pink sandstone, Tamara stone and the soft Cholite of Dungarpur are the other varieties of stones that are used for making icons, utility items, figures etc.

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One of the most attractive items of leather is the "Mojari", a footwear. The leather is embroidered, punched, studded and stitched in various eye catching designs. The best known centers of traditional footwear are Jaipur and Jodhpur. Articles like lamps and lampshades are colored and decorated with floral designs and figures and plated with thin gold leaf work.

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An array of terracotta articles are produced in Rajasthan : paper-thin pottery, painted pottery, white and red clay articles and terracotta wall plaques. Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Alwar & Bikaner are the main centers.

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The art of glazed blue pottery which came to India from Persia, flourishes in Jaipur even today. The best blue pottery pieces carry floral or geometrical patterns and sometimes the figures of animals.

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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. Of Course, for most it would be impossible to think of "using" antiques in their homes, but they do make attractive, decorative objects.

Antiques shops can be found every where within the state, but Jodhpur is one of the major centre of Real and genuine Antiques of Metal, Paintings, Furniture, Jewelry and Textiles etc.

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