stone carving
TRANSCRIPT
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By
Swarna
080628
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Stone Carving
The beautifultemplesthat dotthe South Indian
state ofTamil Naduhavelentthestatethe
sobriquet of"land oftemples". The glory ofTamil
templearchitecture reachesitspinnaclein the
Meenakshitempleat Madurai. Thetemple withits
profusion ofsculptureand magnificentproportions,
thethousand-pillared mandapasand thepillars of
stone,towering gopurams (gateway) and larger-than-life-sized reliefsspeakhighly ofthe
architecturalskills oftheTamilsculptors.
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Thesculptorsfinesense ofbalanceand skillis
also displayed in the othertemples ofthestate. At
Chidambaram, onefinds beautifulpanels depictingthe 108 karanas ofthe Natya Shastra while
Kanchipuramhousesa number ofthetemples
starting fromtheearliest Pallavatimesto the
Nayakperiod and even later. Theartistic
achievements oftheTamilsculptorsarealso
displayed atthe grand EkambareshwaraTemple
and the VaradaraajaTemple.
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The granite carving in Tamil Naduis
confined to theareaaround
Mamallapuram (also Mahabalipuram)
and Chingleput. Thismay beattributed
to thefactthatthe governmenthasset
upthe Mamallapuram School of
Sculpturehere. Justasin bronze,the20th-century sculpturehas not yet
evolved an idiom ofits own and many of
the carvingsare copies oftheearlier
periods.
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Thequality ofthematerialisan extremely
importantpart ofthesculpturalprocess. Justas
the Shilpa Shastraset outthemeasurementsand
techniques ofsculpting,thesculptorsherehavealso goneinto a detail regarding thequality of
stone,itsmaturity,texture, colourand otherthings.
Theartists outhere work withtheindigenous
varieties ofthestoneavailablein thestate,asitis
extremely durablefor construction purposes. Alsothehomogeneity ofthestoneisimportantforthe
stability and durability ofthefinalform.
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Stone carving isan ancientactivity wherepieces
ofrough naturalstone areshaped by the
controlled removal ofstone. Owing to the
permanence ofthematerial,evidence can befound thateven theearliestsocietiesindulged in
someform ofstone work.
Work carried out by paleolithic societiesto create
flinttools ismore often referred to asknapping.
Stone carving thatis doneto producelettering ismore often referred to aslettering.
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Stone carving differsfromstoneasin marblequarrying in
thatitistheact ofshaping orincising thestone, whereas
quarrying istheactivity ofacquiring usefulstone,usually in
blocks,from geologicalsources.
Thetermstone carving is ofparticularsignificancetosculptors being a referenceto aparticular way ofproducing
sculpture,as opposed to modelling in clay or casting. The
termalso refersto theactivity ofmasons in dressing stone
blocksforusein architecture,building orcivilengineering. It
isalso aphraseused by archaeologists,historians,and
anthropologists to describetheactivity involved in making
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Stone carving from Orissa
Thesearethe beautifulstone carvings ofOrissa
exhibited in the Crafts Fairheld at Surajkund inHaryana. Itisan annualfair organized by Haryana
Tourismto promote Indian handicraftand
handloomtradition and forthe craftenthusiasts;
thisfairisamust-to-be-included itemin theirtravelplan.
Stone carving isamajorhandicraft ofOrissa. The
craftsmen ofOrissaspecializein making figures
and icons ofsoapstoneand granite. Many ofthecarved figuresarethose ofgods, goddesses,
Buddha, nymphsand motherand child. Along with
these,various beautiful danceposesarealso
carved fromthesestones.
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Stone carving in india
The geologically old land ofRajasthan, richin differentkinds ofhard rockslike granites,marbles,quartzite,slates,and other
metamorphic rocks,has been astone-carver'sparadise. Rightfrom
themedievaltimes,the ready availability ofhigh-quality stone (the
use ofbrick wasalmostunknown) madeiteasy forthe Rajasthanibuilderto constructstrong and beautifulforts,palaces,and temples.
Thesculpturesfound in theancientand medievaltemples of
Bharatpur, Baroli, Ramgarh, Nagda, Ajmer, Chittor, Mandore,
Jaisalmer, Bikaner,and Udaipurspeakhighly oftheartistic skills of
the Rajasthanistonecutters. Apartfromtemple carvings,thestone
carvers ofRajasthan are noted fortheirjali (latticework) carvings.Mostancientpalatial buildings ofRajasthan sportjali work on their
doorsand windows. Thejaliscreens,sculpted from bothsandstone
and marble, werefrequently used in the windows ofthezenanas
(women'squarters) enabling the women in purdahto view the
events ofthe courts without being seen. Thescreensalso offered
protection fromtheelements whileallowing thepassage offreshairthroughtheintricate geometric patterns.
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Stone Sculpture Carving in India
Thereisalot ofvery difficult workthat goesinto the carving ofone ofLotus Sculpture'sgranitestatues. In thissection we will out
linetheprocess ofcarving and how we getfroma raw piece ofstoneto one ofourmagnificentstonesculptures!
Theprocessismainly in threeseparate
parts; 1. Acquiring and cutting ofthestone2. The rough cut ofthesculpture3. andcarving and filing ofthe details ofthepiece.
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.
Acquiring and Cutting the Raw Stone
Theartistsmustfirst obtain alargestone by going to thestone
quarry wherethelargestonesareharvested. Itisvery difficult
to find alargeenoughstoneto carvealargepiece ofover 6
feet. Mostlargerpieces ofstonein thequarry have cracksin
them.
The originalstoneforthis raw stone which willeventually bea 6 foot Buddha weight
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Ifa crackisundetected by an artistand thecarving isstarted thesculpture will often breakduring the carving process.
Thislarge 7 footpiece ofstone was going tobeastanding Hanuman statue. There wasacrackthat wasundetected atthetop ofthepieceand thetoppiece broke offthestoneasyou can see by the outline ofthe Hanuman
statue on thestone.
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The raw stoneusually weighsabout 2.5 timesthe
amount ofthefinished sculpture. For a Buddha
statuethat weighs 4000 pounds when completed
the raw stone weighsapproximately 10,000
pounds. Thusalarge craneisused to movethe
stone. The cranesare rented by theartist by the
hour.
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Notallsculpturesare 6 feettall! When theartists
need to cutthestoneto makesmallerpiecesthey
usemany small chiselsinserted into carved holes
in thestone.
They then usealargesledgehammerto gradually
hammerin each ofthesmall chiselsinto the
stone. Thiseventually causesa crackin the
stone.
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Oncetheartisthasthe raw piece ofstoneitis
shaped into a blockthat can be worked with. They
uselarge cutting chisels designed to break off
large chunks ofrockto shapethe rock.
Click here to go to the nextstep oftheprocess;
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Stone Carving in India
Thestone-carving tradition in Indiais one oftherichestin the world. Guilds ofmasonsand stonecarvershaveexisted heresincethe 7th century B.C.Theskills werehanded down asfamily lorefrom
fatherto son,apractise prevalentin someparts ofthe country even today.
The classicaltradition ofstone carving was closelylinked witharchitecture. Allmajortemples of India-beit Puri, Konark, Khajuraho, Kailash Temple, orthe
ShoreTempleat Mahabalipuram-illustratethe richtradition of Indian stone carvings.
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The geologically old land ofRajasthan, richin differentkinds ofhard rockslike granites,marbles,quartzite,slates,and othermetamorphic rocks,has been astone-carver'sparadise. Rightfromthemedievaltimes,the ready availability ofhigh-qualitystone (theuse ofbrick wasalmostunknown) madeiteasy forthe Rajasthani builderto constructstrong and beautifulforts,
palaces,and temples. Thesculpturesfound in theancientandmedievaltemples ofBharatpur, Baroli, Ramgarh, Nagda, Ajmer,Chittor, Mandore, Jaisalmer, Bikaner,and Udaipurspeakhighlyoftheartistic skills ofthe Rajasthani stonecutters. Apartfromtemple carvings,thestone carvers ofRajasthan are noted fortheirjali (latticework) carvings. Mostancientpalatial buildings ofRajasthan sportjali work on their doorsand windows. Thejali
screens,sculpted from bothsandstoneand marble, werefrequently used in the windows ofthezenanas (women'squarters) enabling the women in purdah to view theevents ofthe courts without being seen. Thescreensalso offeredprotection fromtheelements whileallowing thepassage offreshairthroughtheintricate geometric patterns
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Rajasthan continuesto be one ofmajorcentres ofstone carving in the country. Thecapital city Jaipuristhe centre ofmarble
carving in Rajasthan. Here one can seeartisans creating marbleimages ofthedeitiesas wellas domestic utensilssuchasbowlsfor grinding spicesand kneadingdough. At Ajmer, Udaipur, Jodhpurand
Bikaner, one comesacrosssomevery fineexamples oftheintricatejali work done onscreensand panels ofthe royalpalaces
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Thefinequality ofmarbleand sandstoneextractedfromthe numerousquarriesin thestatehad givenriseto atradition ofstonemasonsand sculptors. Thequarriesat Makrana arequitefamous,foritisfromthesequarriesthatthemarbleused in theTaj Mahal
wasmined. Also builtusing marblefrom Makranamines weretheexquisite Dilwara Jain templesat MtAbu. Rupbas (near Agra) and Karauli stillproducethe red sandstonethat wasused by the Mughals tobuild theirfortsand palacesat Agra, Delhi,andFatehpur Sikri. In east Rajasthan, Kotaproduces
grey stoneforfloormaking, Barmerproduces yellowmarblefor delicate carvings,and Ajmerproducesgranites.
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Thesoft chromatic stonemined fromthequarries ofDungarpurareused by thestone carvers ofthestatefor carvingimages ofthe deities. Thestone becomes
black when oiled. Asthesubjectmatter oftheseimagesis divine,thesculptorsarerequired to workaccording to theguidelineslaid down in the Shilpa Shastra,an ancient Hindutreatise on sculptureand
architecture.
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The religiousthemesare carved in stoneall over
thestate. One can seethelifelikeimages being
skilfully sculptured in differentvarieties ofstone
acrossthestate. In Jaipur, whitemarbleisused for
carving outstatues ofgodsand goddessesas well
asanimaland human figures.