Art Of Wood Carving

The Art Of Carving Wood Is Found All Over India. Sheesham Is The Most Widely Used Type Of Wood, Mango, Teak, Rosewood, Ebony, Sandalwood, Walnut And Deodar Are Also Used. The Carved Wooden Pillars & Doorways Can Be Found In Temples & Palaces Across The Country. The Royal Patronage Being Replaced By Market Dynamics. Wood Carvings Are Mostly Found In Furniture Articles Like Home Furnitures, Bowls & Lamps.

Wood Carving Is A Form Of Wood Working By Means Of A Cutting Tool Like Knife In One Hand Or A Chisel By Two Hands Or With One Hand On A Chisel And One Hand On A Mallet Resulting In A Wooden Sculptural Work. This Phase May Also Refer To The Finished Products. The Making Of Wood Sculpture Is Widely Practiced But Survives Much Less Than Stone & Bronze.

Many Of The Most Important Sculptures Of China And Japan, In Particular, Are In Wood, And So Are The Great Majority Of African Sculpture And That Of Oceania And Other Regions.

Artistic Woodwork Began As A Temple, Palace Craft, And Flourished Alongside Architecture And Sculpture. Depending On Local Availability, Different Woods Were Used For Wood Carving And Fashioned Into Religious, Indian Decorative Items And Functional Articles. Over Time, Various Centres Of Wood Carving Emerged, Each With Its Distinct Style.

Today, Saharanpur In Uttar Pradesh Is Regarded As The Specialized Center For Wood Carving. The Origin Of The Indian Handicraft Online Can Be Traced Back To The Late 19th Century. Wood Carving Included Designs, With Many Of The Craftpersons Having Descended From Kashmiri Immigrants. These Influences Continue To Reflect In Contemporary Products Like The Finely Chiseled Screens And Jaali Work And The Anguri Or Vine Leaf Pattern Found In Many Saharanpur Products. With Its Development Into A Major Hub For Woodwork, Wood Carvers From Other Centres Have Also Migrated Here. As A Result, Saharanpur Can Boast Of A Wide And Highly Skilled Repertoire Of Techniques And Products, Cater To Both The Domestic And Export Markets.

Wood Carving Is Done Entirely By Hand. In Saharanpur, Sheesham Is Generally The Wood Of Choice, Though Teak, Rosewood, Walnut And Mango Are Also Used. Designs Are First Made On Paper And Transferred Onto The Wood Using Ink. These Are Then Carved Using A Variety Of Chisels. The Article Is Finished By Buffing In Order To Bring Out The Shine Of The Wood. This Is Usually Done With The Help Of A Lathe Mechanism.

In The Modern Century, Wood Carving Has Gone Out Of Fashion. The Work Is Necessarily Slow & Requires Lots Of Skills, Making The Work Very Expensive. Cheaper Methods Of Decoration Have Driven Carving From Its Former Place. Machine Work Has Much To Answer For, And The Boost To Popularize The Craft By Means Of The Village Class Has Not Always Achieved Its Own End. The Gradual Vanishing Of The Individual Artist, Elbowed Out As He Has Been, By The Middle Man, Is Fatal To The Continuance Of An Art Which Can Never Flourish When Done At So Much A Yard." This Statement Has Proven Untrue, As The Continued Living Of The Art And Indian Handicraft Of Woodcarving Can Be Demonstrated By A Large Number Of Woodcarvers Who Have Carried On Or Advanced The Tradition In Different Parts Of The World.