SILVER ON WOOD
CRAFT CLUSTER FROM RAJASTHAN, INDIA.
The Jangids in Rajasthan region have extended their wood cutting skills to silver work as well, adjusting their prowess to demonstrate three-dimensional items on the lines of a vast number of silver items. The lion’s share of these items usually takes into account religious and ceremonial utilitarian objects; the major items thus created in this way are temple idols, shrines, ritual lamps and the lota or water containers used in ritual ablutions. “While the majority of these articles are made exclusively when there is a specific request, silver coins and little boxes are made in anticipation of the high-intensity sale which might happen during the celebration of Diwali. The silver is obtained from the nearby market as sheets known as siti. Depending upon the item to be made, the silver might be changed into sheets or softened and recast into a specific shape.”
In the Pali region, the jewellers of the Soni community create silver ornaments for the Rabaris, a pastoral community of Gujarat residing in Rajasthan. Idols, miniature models of temples, thrones for deities, lamps, boxes, diya stands, lotas (water containers), cups and bowls, are jewellery (anklets, earrings, and waistbands) are mostly the final products of this craft form.