It’s a Crafty Thursday. Yes, the theme for this Thursday Challenge is Crafts as in Supplies, Knitting, Crocheting, Woodworking, Pottery, Painting,…
And I am sharing a wonderful and beautiful craft of Kashmir… the Papier Mache.
Papier mache is a delicate decorative art which shows the artistic zeal of a craftsman. This art was introduced in Kashmir in the 15th Century by a Kashmiri Prince who spent years in prison at Samarkand in Central Asia. The art born in the land of Persia was highly favored by Mughal Emperors of 15th and 16th Century.
The first step involved in making Papier-Mache objects, is to soak paper in water till it disintegrates. This paper is pounded and mixed with an adhesive solution. The resultant pulp is shaped over moulds and allowed to dry and set. Once the desired object is ready, artisans draw intricate designs on these objects. The golden color is widely used, usually as a base for other designs in vibrant colors. Once the design is drawn the entire object is varnished to give it a smooth finish. Finally these objects are coated with lacquer. This coating of lacquer protects them from water and gives them extra durability.
Papier Mache, today, has become highly stylized and appealing by using real gold and silver paint and by adding intricate decorations. The designs and decorations of the Kashmiri Papier Mache, usually in the form of flowers and birds, have a strong Persian flavor.
The Papier Mache objects produced in Kashmir today vary from Christmas ornaments to coasters and include boxes of every imaginable size and shape. These objects are not only beautifully decorated, but are surprisingly light and strong.
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24 Responses
Thats so wonderful. Thanks for the description as well. I dont think I would have appreciated it so much if not for your description.
Its an art!!
Love it:)
WOW….Nice decription.
check my thursday challenge: http://jidhu.blogspot.com/2010/11/thursday-challenge-crafts.html
Wow these are so pretty. I have smaller versions of it, little trinket boxes.
Amazing craftwork isn’t it?
Love Papier mache and loved the pictures 🙂
Lovely craft pieces and an informative description.
Beautiful work of art. Thanks for that description, Shilpa, was quite informative 🙂
nice yeah i do remember buying some of these when i had come to my trip to kashmir long itme back …
they look beautiful…
Lovely! I got to see how they make it, on TV, a long time back.
Love it! I remember making papier mache stuff with mum. It was so much fun! Nothing half as gorgeous as this, but it was still a lot of fun!
these are so pretty..and the details that you provided made it more interesting 🙂
Lovely. 🙂
Can’t believe they are made of paper!!
Looks fancy. Would like to buy one. Btw, nice research on it’s making. 🙂
amazing art..thanks for the description shilpa..makes the art all the more appreciable 🙂
PS: people solicit their posts here too? aren’t twitter and facebook enough? what’s the point in leaving behind a linkback?
PPS: my PS is longer than the comment!
Lovvvved it 🙂 And thanks so much for the detailed post 🙂
I really want to get hold of one of these 🙂 they look so beautiful! Are they available anywhere Kashmir or only available there?
outside Kashmir* (typo)
Thanks for the beautiful description! We do buy a lot of Paper Mache dolls for Navarathri..however I was unaware how it is done!
And the dolls made out of Paper mache are always more beautiful,colorful and elegant with expressions comparing the dull mud dolls!!
So pretty 🙂
I love the vivid colours. Been a while since a picked up a papier mache.
I remember our school kids used to make papier mache stuff in the art room, boy that smell!!!!
Sure, liked it. Very creative and thanks a lot for that write-up. 🙂 🙂
Pretty, beautiful – and the description too.
used to try my hands on Papier Mache when i was kid. Though it never turned up great, there was a joy in the attempt 🙂
i had once made a paper mache bowl 🙂 beautiful stuff! how much do they cost?