Lacquered wood craft - Tableware
About The Craft
Lacquered wood craft
Lac, a material taken from insect resin, has been used in Indian craft for centuries. Coloured lacquer is applied to wood by heat through turning with a hand lathe. In the process, the artisan manoeuvres the lacquered colours to create patterns by hand in kaleidoscopic designs. This form of lacquered patterning is found only in Kachchh.
The Vadhas are a nomadic community that moved throughout Kachchh through villages like Nirona and Jura. Traditionally, artists of the local area obtain lac from insects found in the forests. Later, when resources started to get reduced, they began to collect and prepare lac from some sorts of trees. Nowadays, they purchase it from the market. They are migrants from the Sindh area where this lacquer work originated. That is why you can find some similarities between the artworks of the Sindh and Kutch areas. Whether it is rolling dough, cabinets, chests, window panels, or thread wrappers, artists of the Kutch region can varnish every wooden object using their skills and imagination. This artwork is commonly found in and surrounding villages of Nirona and Bhirandiayara.
Lac-turned wood is practised using simple tools, a self-made lathe, a string attached to a bow, and sticks of coloured lac. Each lathe is demarcated by two sharpened iron rods which are bent toward each other at ninety-degree angles and fixed in the ground. The distance between them is dependent upon the length of wood the artisan is turning because the wood must be held firmly between the rods’ pointed ends. The artisan begins
by carving the wood. Once the wood is carved into the product, artisans apply lac on the wood to create colour patterns on it. Traditionally, the lacquer was coloured with vegetable dyes though, more recently, artisans use brightly coloured chemical dyes. The first colour is a base upon which the artisan adds layers of colours.
by carving the wood. Once the wood is carved into the product, artisans apply lac on the wood to create colour patterns on it. Traditionally, the lacquer was coloured with vegetable dyes though, more recently, artisans use brightly coloured chemical dyes. The first colour is a base upon which the artisan adds layers of colours.
The most commonly crafted products are kitchen utensils including chakia belan (chapatti roller and chamcha (spoons), thaveta (spatulas), and khandani (mortar and pestles). Artisans also produce decorative household items such as charpoy (bedsteads), bajot (stools) and gotani (furniture legs) etc.
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Product Ideation
Prototyping
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