Local Distribution of Wood-Carving

CHAPTER VI.

Local distribution of WooD-CARviNa.

MOST of the requests for information despatched to the various

No districts elicited the laconic reply, "

wood-carving here."

Monograph on Wood Carving.

Probably there are bazaars in every district possessing good carved

chauhats

and

verandahs but ;

this

does

not prove

that

wood-carving

was ever a local industry. Wood-carvers are freer agents than most

A members of the community and will go far afield to get work.

great

deal of the carving found in the Southern districts was done by men

imported from the carving centres of the North, and the Rohilkhand

would still be capable of maintaining this tradition if the old taste in

house-decoration revived.

MEERUT DIVISION.

Reference has already been made to the many shortcomings of the

best known class of Sahdranpur carving, namely, the cheap articles of

fretted tun-^wood., such as are sold on railway-station platforms. The

industry possesses small claim to the title of "carving" and has few Indian characteristics. What carving there is on trays, screen-borders,

&c., is poor and superficial and of nondescript design. In fact, the

industry is quite modern, having sprung up in the last generation ; the

chief cause of its prosperity being the fact that it provides tourists with convenient and portable mementos. The articles in question will have

to fetch higher prices before the expenditure of more time and trouble in their manufacture will be profitable.

The same Jcdrkhdnas which turn out these articles for the general market are also capable of doing really artistic and delicate work for a customer who will pay a high price and take some trouble over the

details of his purchase.

Graceful and well-finished dtishhhdnas, screens, and tables from

Sahdranpur are a feature of many drawing-rooms. Both shisham and tiin lend themselves to minute and intricate jdli work, and the effect is greatly enhanced by the natural beauty of the polished wood.

However, even in the best class of work there is little that can be

A called carving.

superficial, floreated pattern embellishes the narrow

iBtrips of surface which are of necessity left unfretted, and even this, in

the case of the softer tun wood, is done largely by the aid of a leaf-

shaped punch.

Monograph on Wood Carving.

The thin panels of fretwork are sawn from a plank previously fretted by machine. In this way one passage of the machine fret-saw is actually doing five or six panels of jdli work at once. The perfect symmetry which results from these ingenious methods is striking and effective, though hardly a triumph of " art ".

The work of the fret-saw is finally touched up with a chisel in order to remove the machine-made effect, and the "carving" is then complete. A photograph of a typical Sahdranpur kdrhhdna will be found in the

Appendix. Specimens of Sahd-ranpur inlaid work, referred to later, are

included in the picture.

Formerly Sahdranpur was renowned for the excellence of its carved

chaukats of shisham wood. These were th*e work of Hindu mistriSf

whereas the modern jdli trade is entirely in the hands of Muhammadans.

The Hindu wood-carvers have fallen on evil times, and the struggle

against adverse conditions has greatly decreased their numbers. Private orders still provide work for the few who remain. Three of them are

at present engaged in carving a door which promises to be equal to the

A best work ever done here.

picture in the Appendix shows them at

their work in the verandah of the Sahdranpur Town Hall. The

door is going on loan to the Delhi Exhibition, and thence to the

Lucknow Museum. Those who know the Indian Institute, Oxford, may

remember a splendidly-carved door of shisham wood which adorned

the Persian lecture-room ; and this, too, was carved in SaMranpur

and was sent to England, after gaining a medal at the Calcutta

Exhibition. A few years ago the dudhi carving of Sahdranpur was well-known and extensively patronized. This industry is now practically extinct. A -- fbw plaques, salvers, and picture-frames all carved with the anguri -- hel or vine-leaf pattern are still on sale. The trade deserves no

encouragement.

The city of Sahdranpur itself does not contain many monuments of

A good architectural carving.

photograph of the finest piece of carving

Monograph on Wood Carving.

in the bazaar is reproduced in the Appendix. It is an old chaukat,

sadly disfigured by the two unsightly hiwdrs inserted at a later date.

Quite apart from the inference to be drawn from the presence of

Ganesh in the lintel, the door is obviously of Hindu workmanship. The

portrayal of human forms in the

haithaks

sufficient

evidence of

this ;

but Muhammadan influence is also clearly traceable in the mehrdh, in

the flat rehef of the carving, and in the symmetrical and, for the most

part, floral nature of the design. The excellence of the carving is more

apparent in the detail of situn, haithaJc, and sdda given separately in the

Appendix. Pinjra work is not uncommon in the windows and verandahs of the city. It is a kind of geometric lattice-work in which each piece of the wooden frame -work is held in place by a neat system of dowelling and without the aid of glue. This class of work is more common in the Panjdb than in these Provinces. No pinjra work is done in Sahd- ranpur now, the existing specimens all being at least thirty years old. Of other places in the same division, Meerut itself is remarkable for the number of carved doors to be found in the bazaar and elsewhere.

Only the older "specimens contain workmanship of any merit. The demand for carved doors still exists, but in the case of wood-carving the

excellence of the work is strictly proportionate to the price, and Rs. 12 to Rs. 25 seems to be the highest price people are willing to give. The result is that the bazaar and the carpenters' yards are full of cheap

carved chaukats, nearly all of one uniform and roughly-executed design,

A and all constructed of badly joined, unseasoned beams.

large propor-

tion of these commonplace chaukats are made by village barhais and

bought up by city contractors. As a rule every form of Indian art, including wood-carving, is extensively represented at the Nauchandi Fair held at the end of the

cold weather. Probably owing to the deterrent effect of plague restric-

tions the fair of 1902 did not attract artisans from so wide an area as

Monograph on Wood Carving.

usual and was more local in character. There was no lack of brass

and silver ware; but the presence of plague in the Panjdb had a marked effect on the wood-carving booths. The "ebony" carving of Nagina was well represented; but the annual prize was allotted to an easel carved in

shisham by a Shikdrpur mistri. In Shikdrpur and Bulandshahr a struggling industry still exists, though the demand is fast approaching vanishing point. Thirty years ago the outlook was almost as gloomy as at present ; but by sympathetic -- -- tj-eatment Mr. Growse then Collector of Bulandshahr brought about an astonishing revival, and twenty years ago Bulandshahr wood-carving was a notable feature of most art exhibitions. After his departure decadence again set in, and the effects of the impulse imported to local industry by his efforts have almost entirely died away. Richly carved doors, ornamented with the brass wire inlay known as Mainpuri work, adorn the Club and Town Hall and are the most striking memento of Mr. Growse's work.

Aligarh is not, and never can have been, a centre of wood-carving. A. less pretentious bazaar it is impossible to imagine. Any unusual -- extravagance expresses itself in the form of stone-carving a natural effect of the proximity of Muttra and Agra. Out in the district, however, English patronage has developed a school of mistris whose work is marked by pure design and admirable execution. Their speciality is carved mantelpieces, and there is at least one specimen in Aligarh which would not suffer from comparison with the best Indian carving.

It is of a well-finished native design which harmonises well with the massive arch of dark shisham wood.

The uncertain tenure on which most Europeans hold their bunga-

lows, renders the erection of such mantelpieces a somewhat risky

investment but ;

if Government

is really

anxious to

save

the

wood-

carving craft from extinction, the introduction of carved mantelpieces

into circuit-houses, messes, official residences, and public buildings would

be a step in the right direction, especially as the required form need

Monograph on Wood Carving.

not clash with the mistris' prejudice in favour of his qaida, and would lend itself to the manifold traditional designs which from time immemorial have embellished the rectangular lintel and the carved mehrdb of

the chaukat.

The Landour bazaar possesses a reputation for wood-carving to which it has small claim. The articles displayed in the shops and hawked in the verandahs of Mussoorie hotels are not of local manufacture, but are

a miscellaneous assortment from Sahdranpur, Nagina, Hoshidrpur, Jullundur.

The same is true of Naini Tdl. There is no local wood-carving

industry, the Pahdris confining themselves to plain carpentry. Every

season brings an influx of wood-carvers or their agents from the Panjdb,

Kashmir, and other parts. Side by side with the inlay work of

Hoshidrpur will be found the ebony caskets of Nagina and the fretted

A tun of Sahdranpur. Practically no work is done on the spot.

stock

of articles is taken up at the opening of the season and replenished as

occasion requires.

ROHILKHAND DIVISION.

In this division, as far as wood-carving is concerned, Nagina is an -- "A oasis in the desert. One Collector of great experience writes : more inartistic people than the Rohilkhandi I never came across. In their brass-work alone do they show any remnant of the artistic

sense.''

Art in Moradabad is a monopoly of the brass-workers, and Bareilly confines itself to the manufacture of a species of lacquered furniture, the distinctive feature of which is a decorative varnish laid

on so as to represent metallic foliage or tracery on a black or white

ground. Pilibhit is no longer a home of wood-carving, and its carpenters have found a profitable substitute in the building of rehlus or light bullock wagons, and by their enterprise have established a considerable export trade.

Monograph on Wood Carving.

Mention has already been made of Pilibhit bazaar as a standing example of the present decadent tendencies. The iron verandahs and

variegated stone-work of the new-fashioned mansions mingle with the finely-carved doors and balconies of the older houses. One is compelled to admit that, from the point of view of durability, the modern fashion has the advantage. The beauties of wood-carving exposed to the weather are short-lived, and the unremitting energy of the whiteant

ensures that the wood itself does not long outlast the carving. Wood-

carving, if it is to be appreciated by posterity, must be confined to those

A parts of a building where it receives some sort of protection.

carved

door or window can always be so placed as to be safeguarded against the

effects of exposure.

Judging from the appearance of the bazaar, wood-carving must have

had a glorious past in Pilibhit. It is said to have been introduced in 1764 by Hdfiz Rahmat Khan, who summoned a skilful stone-cutter from Delhi to direct the ornamentation of the Juma Masjid then under

construction. In the hands of his pupils the art was extended to wood, a primary cause being the natural abundance of shisham wood. On rapid development ensued rapid decadence, and this has been so complete that to-day there is not one carpenter in the bazaar who plies the craft

of wood-carving. The fame of Nagina ebony-work has gone out beyond these Provinces. The familiar pen-boxes, salvers, and walking-sticks are to be met with all over India, and on two occasions Nagina wood-carvers

have figured personally in Exhibitions held in London. In one of the Annual Statistical Reports it is stated that the industry began to develope about two centuries ago, and owed much of its progress to a native of Mult4n who settled in Nagina. This may or may not be true ; but certainly there is no local record of the fact, nor

is there any tradition in the bazaar going back even one century.

Native-like, the numerous dukdnddrs invariably assign to. their respect-

ive grandfathers the honour of having founded the industry.

Monograph on Wood Carving.

The point is not of any great importance, as it is certain that the art as it exists to-day is of comparatively recent origin. For some generations the Nagina lohdrs had been in the habit of making gunstocks, chdrpdi legs, and masnads of ebony and adorning them with a superficial floral carving to suit native taste. Not until about thirty years ago did the industry attract European attention. The Collector of Bijnor was struck by the beauty of the wood and the potentialities of the industry, and gave an order for some carved picture-frames. From this date steady European demand sprang up ; but the comment of Mr. Markham in the Settlement Report, 1874, shows that the standard of artistic merit continued low for some time. He says the "ebony-carving is pretty, but superficial. It cannot "compare with the black-wood carvings of the Bombay side. Patterns are "much wanted, and instruction in the use of the square. Parallel edges, -- "correct right angles, a true geometrical figure, nay, even straight -- "lines, are apparently beyond the power of the native workman." This would not be a fair criticism of Nagina work to-day, and we may draw the gratifying conclusion that the establishment of a European connection does not always ruin an indigenous art-industry! In the case of Nagina the explanation lies in the fact that the work always took the form of kinick-knacks and small articles. By reason of its scarcity and heavy weight the wood is unsuited for other purposes. Accordingly the European connection caused no revolutionary change of traditional methods. The work continued on its old lines and prospered. Nagina carving takes the form of a surface decoration of foliage and geometric diapers daintily wrought in crisp relief on trays, caskets, screens, book-covers, and tables. Owing to the extreme hardness of the wood the carving is never deep. It is strictly Muhammadan in character and under-cutting is never practised. The wood is expensive, the present average price being about Rs. 14 per maund. Consignments of logs are brought to Nagina by

Monograph on Wood Carving,

agents from Central India. Considerable discretion is needed in the selection of timber as flaws are not uncommon, and heavy loss is incurred if they pass undetected. To the unpractised eye all the logs appear much alike. There are five or six big MrJchdnaddrs at Nagina, all Muhammadans. There is no combination among them, and competition is very keen. They objected to the suggestion that a photograph should be taken of a joint collection of their best carvings, on the ground that they never showed each other their wares. The fret-work machine has found its way to Nagina * but happily the wood-carvers are themselves prejudiced against its use, and do all their best jdli work by hand. The machine is used for turning out the cheaper class of goods hawked on railway-stations. In screens, panels, and book-covers the carving is often combined with an inlay of silver or ivory, which acts as an admirable foil to the darkness of the wood. LUCKNOW DIVISION. Apart from some fine specimens of wood-carving in the Industrial Museum and a few old doors in the city temples, Lucknow possesses little interest as far as the present subject is concerned. It is evident from the royal palaces that the taste of the old Nawdbs did not incline towards wood-carving, and the craft must have languished rapidly after the arrival of the court from Fyzabad. There are one or two carpenters capable of doing fine work, and their skill is at present being employed to good purpose on the panels of the staircase and the Council Room ceiling in the new Court of the Judicial Commissioner. The finely-carved screens in the Chhatar Manzil are of Panjdb workmanship. In this division Sitdpur is the only other district which deserves notice. Carved doors are commonly met with, and there is still a fair demand at low prices. The carving is mostly of simple floral design and not remarkable for delicacy or finish. The wood used is invariably

Monograph on Wood Carving,

sal imported either from the Kheri forests or Nep.il. It is not a handsome timber, either as regards colour or veining, and it is probably for this reason that carved chaukats of sal wood are almost always stained black to resemble ebony. To obtain this effect fine soot scraped from tdwas, in which chapdtis are cooked, is mixed with mustard-oil and rubbed into the cJiauhat. This process, assisted by subsequent applications of plain oil, eventually produces a jet-black surface. FYZABAD DIVISION. It would appear that the Nawdbs of Oudh were greater patrons of wood-carving in the pre-Lucknow days, before the court was shifted from Fyzabad. Be that as it may, the Fyzabad district as a whole, certainly possesses a greater proportional share of architectural carvings than the present capital of Oudh. The Royal Fish, the emblem (mahi muratib) conferred by the Mughal Emperors on the flower of their nobility, and maintained by the House of Oudh as the crest of royal independence, constantly recurs in the designs, and bears witness to the good relations that subsisted between the court and the artisans. The wood-carving industry has long since languished in Fyzabad ; but there are still a few mistris in the district who can do good work when occasion demands. The thappa carving of Tdnda is of special interest, and is referred to later. Bahraich is interesting on account of some carvings in sal wood found in the Syed Saldr Dargah shrine, and reputed to be several hundred years old. Nowadaj'-s the Bahraich carpenters do not practise the art of carving ; but some workmen, who were imported from the Panjdb and work in private employ, have earned a wide reputation for their skill. BENARES DIVISION. The only carving of note to be found in Benares itself is the Nepdlese work in the temples. Nepalese carving possesses many of the familiar characteristics of Burmese work. It is ragged in outline.

Monograph on Wood Carving.

grotesque and extravagant in design. The temple carvings at Benares -- show more ability in workmanship than good taste, being where figures -- are introduced chiefly representations of indelicate subjects. This characteristic is said to be due to the strange Nepdlese superstition that

carvings of this nature afford protection against lightning. -- -- The lathe not the chisel is responsible for the lacquered toys and

A ornaments of Benares.

similar trade exists in the Mirzapur district,

which is also noted for stone-carving. As regards wood-carving the whole division is practically barren.

AGRA DIVISION.

Agra and Muttra, though justly renowned for stone-carving, contain no sign nor remnant of a local wood-carving industry. In the Etah district there is a small community of harhais who call themselves Brdhmans and wear the janeo. Their headquarters are at Marehra, and there they make simple fret-work articles of shisham, sirisj and tiln wood. Jewel-boxes with secret drawers and pen-boxes carved out of solid blocks of wood are local specialities, and some of the better class of work is decorated with ivory inlay. Greater interest attaches to Farrukhabad and Mainpuri. Fifty years ago Farrukhabad must have numbered a flourishing guild of Muhammadan wood-carvers among its inhabitants, as the bazaar contains many carved verandahs and balconies of pure moresque design. These relics of bygone days, when other tastes prevailed, are for the most part in a very dilapidated condition ; and although many features of the modern city mansion are objectionable on aesthetic grounds, it would nevertheless be a matter of surprise if the builder of to-day did not take such striking object-lessons to heart, and endeavour to confer on domestic architecture the hitherto unrecognised merit of

durabilitj''. The old guild of wood-carvers is now extinct, and the carpenters -- -- of the place themselves incapable of carving a chauhat confine the education of their children to mota ham.

Monograph 07i Wood Caroing.

Bdrih hdm in Farrukhabad is limited to a few Hindu harhais who carve blocks for the cloth-printers, and to a few Panjdbis who have recently been imported for a similar purpose. This class of work will be discussed separately. One Hindu workman belonging to an old local family of harhais finds regular w^ork in the private employ of Sri Kishun Das. There is a four-leaved shisham-wood screen of his workmanship which for richness of design and delicacy of execution could not be excelled. This screen, a photograph of which is reproduced in the Appendix, is being sent on loan to the Dellai Exhibition. The design is an effective compromise between the Hindu and Muhammadan styles. The central panels are filled with perforated diapers of jcili work, and each main leaf is surrounded by a running floreated pattern in which, at regular intervals, occur the best known and most popular figures of the great epics. Within each of the perforated buds which surmount the upper edges of the screen, the workman has cunningly fashioned a human likeness,-- a tour de force which the photograph fails to reveal. It is to be hoped that those of our tourist visitors who 'see the screen at Delhi will mark the gulf which lies between the best Indian -- wood-carving and the commonplace hm work between the work which takes years of inherited skill to perfect and the machine-made trash hawked on railway platforms. Whereas the architectural wood-work of Farrukhabad is strictly Muhammadan, both in execution and design, the carved doors of Mainpuri are more typically Hindu than any similar work in the United Provinces. It is strange that the extreme examples of the two divergent influences should be found in adjacent districts. The explanation probably lies in the fact that the Mainpuri artisans are descended from a family of craftsmen who originally migrated from RdjputAna, and that they have clung to their traditions more tenaciously than th^ neighbouring Hindu harhais.

Monograph on Wood Carving.

If all Indian wood-carving were like that of Mainpuri, Sir George Birdwood's remarks on the universal religious significance of the carved wood-work on Indian houses would be literally true. The carved cliauhats of Mainpuri, few as they are, contain the figures of all the best-known heroes of the Rdmd.yana and Mahdbh^rata. Yet, through all this bold expression of Hindu feeling, and notwith- standing the Hindu trabeated arch, the working of Muhammadan influence is clearly apparent. There is not a trace of the riotous profusion nor of the deep under-cutting which marks pure Hindu work. The design is cold and symmetrical. Each figuire is excluded from the general ornamentation by a rectangular frame, and the panels of the doorway are filled in with Muhammadan geometric designs. Nowadays there is no wood-carving done in Mainpuri except in connection with the tdrkashi work described below.

Local Distribution of Wood-Carving

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