Indian Crafts Research Articles

INDIAN CRAFTS AND SUSTAINABLE NATURAL DYES

Indian crafts reflect the most commonly from different parts of the country practice several art forms and crafts, and their identities are associated with where they carry a significant part of their culture and tradition. Most of these art forms are practised for ages and passed from generation to generation. Most of these are folk and traditional, and regional art forms have local religious themes, community values, cultural practices, and various traditional beliefs. Our country has several distinct folk and traditional arts in different regions of India. Among these most popular are Madhubani from the Mithila region of Bihar, Kalamkari Paintings, Kondapalli Toys, Etikoppaka Toys, Nirmal Toys from Andhra Pradeshand Telangana. Colours carry an important cultural significance in India. Here the researcher wants to focus mainly on the natural dyes used for these art forms, the influence of cultural diversity, and sustainability factors. Natural colors are extracted from plants and other natural sources for most of these art forms. Some of these started adopting artificial synthetic colour practices due to various reasons. Since the dawn of civilization, colour has influenced the human psyche from ancient times and played a significant role in the formation of different cultures of human beings worldwide. With the increasing demand in recent times for the use of natural and sustainable colours many industries started looking for natural bio-resource colours without any harmful effects on the environment and aquatic ecosystem. Current studies also spotlight a historical overview of natural colourants.

Post-colonial structure of the Indian garment industry and its role in maintaining the precarity of women workers

ABSTRACT Neoliberal policies and decentralization of production activities in developing countries have been blamed for the ever-increasing precarity of labor in India since the late twentieth century. Precarious labor, however, had long been a characteristic feature of the Indian garment industry before it actively participated in neoliberal global garment trade in the 1970s and 1980s. This study examines policies that shaped the Indian garment industry in the post-colonial period from 1947 and their effects on production, employment patterns, and women’s work. It employs the Indian Government’s official industry censuses and employment survey reports. Accordingly, the policy of small-scale garment production was backed by benevolent aims of reviving traditional Indian crafts and maximizing employment. However, it yielded a fragmented industrial structure and a pool of precarious labor from a poverty-stricken population. Gender-based social stereotypes further enabled a socio-economically disempowered female workforce. The neoliberal policies that gained ground with the industry’s increasing export orientation exacerbated the precarious working conditions rooted in indigenous policy-making and social mindset. Locating labor precarity and women’s vulnerability within this complex mesh of local and global factors offers an improved framework for testing how neoliberal policies maneuver them to influence production and employment patterns in today’s garment industry.

A study of marketing strategies used by Indian artisans during the Covid-19 crisis

70% of the population lives in villages in India. Time and again, we have underestimated this part of our population while thinking about our country’s economic growth. However, the true spirit and skills of Indian crafts live in rural areas that are self-sufficient and self-reliant. Indian crafts have evolved from the Vedic Era to Indus Valley civilization to Mauryan Era to the Mughal Era, and currently the Modern Indian Era. However, with industrialization and the informal nature of the sector, Indian crafts had started losing relevance. Though 90% population is uneducated, Indian crafts are highly skill-based. Today with the advent of technology, awareness among the new generation of artisans, emerging sectors of the economy, Indian crafts are being revived with the help of craft activists and platforms created for uplifting the community. Slowly as this sector started reviving itself and generated awareness and business, a novel coronavirus pandemic has affected their livelihood. Most artisans have an informal setup. The uncertainty of the situation, ruptured supply chain, canceled orders, and customers’ non-engagement in buying the products; have blurred their future. With no raw materials, no business, no demand, and a huge inventory of canceled orders, various platforms are being created to market their products and generate funds. A study of the marketing strategy is important to know the way forward.

Persian-Punjabi/Urdu Identities of Traditional Geometrical Patterns Lost During the Colonial Rule of the Punjab (1849–1947)

Annexation of the Punjab by the British in 1849 brought about major modifications to the local visual culture. Expecting Indian crafts to remain frozen in time (for several reasons), the colonial administrators and art critics disapproved the changes employed by the craftsmen in their wares to cater to the new ruling class. Among the corrective measures adopted by the government to revive the ‘dying’ Indian art and craft, art schools were set up and surveys were conducted to publish illustrated monographs on individual crafts bringing once strictly guarded trade secrets out in the public. By the late nineteenth century, the ‘native craftsmen’ or mistrīs themselves emerged as authors of illustrated craft manuals carrying instructions in all three important vernaculars, Gurmukhi, Urdu and Sanskrit mixed with some English terms and designs. The most interesting among these publications are a few woodcarver’s manuals that laboriously enumerate a wide range of geometric designs for both architecture and furniture. Each shape, its construction methods and titles are given in an interesting mix of the three vernaculars. These terms were also mentioned by John Lockwood Kipling, the first Principal of the Mayo School of Industrial Art (1876-1893) in his essay on wood carving but abandoned by the time Percy Brown (1897-1909) took over. Except for some, today most of these terms and construction methods are unknown even to the traditional craftsmen of the Punjab. This paper aims to trace the history of traditional geometrical patterns going as far back as Mughal times (sixteenth to eighteenth centuries), their references in manuals published by local craftsmen during the colonial rule and the role of British art educators on social memory.

The Punjab Exhibition of 1881 and Politics of the British Raj

In 1849, Punjab was annexed by the English East India Company. This paper deals with the Punjab Exhibition of 1881, where along with textiles, arts and other local handicrafts of India were put on display. Claiming to revive the indigenous Indian arts, crafts and textiles, the exhibition represents the politics of selected exhibits that catered to the taste1 and choice of the British. The exhibition helps in understanding the objective and importance of conducting imperial exhibitions, as exhibitions were also redefining the European homes. A detailed analysis of the exhibition foregrounds how colonial rule redefined the idea and representation of indigenous handicrafts and art. The indigenous handicraft was also immensely being guided by the European market. Thus, the paper focuses on the aspects and strategy adopted by the British at promoting and preserving Indian art and textile. Moreover, efforts at preservation of the arts got institutionalised in the form of art schools. These were set up for the purpose of promoting and building taste for Indian traditional art in the British markets. The paper attempts to understand how the British shaped the notion of heritage and cultural difference between the coloniser and colonised and the ‘self’ and the ‘other’ through the exhibition. By analyzing the Punjab Exhibition 1881, the paper aims to deal with some pertinent issues such as strategic organisation and representation of the exhibits, as well as the legacy of the exhibition during colonial rule. The paper argues that though the British took to organising exhibitions to promote and preserve Indian art and textile, but in reality, it was a disguise aimed at establishing imperial supremacy over the colonised and maintain a hierarchical relationship of aesthetic and traditional culture between the ruler and the ruled.

Ethnicity: Exploring omani people's diversity through their crafts

It seemed that the lack of the involvement of ethnic groups, in crafts industries in Oman, is very clear. As a result of this shortage, crafts industries in Oman are affected negatively, because of losing ethnic groups contributions in this field. Regarding this challenge, this research paper will explore ways that can help to take advantage of these groups’ craftsmanship and participation in crafts enterprise in order to contribute to society's diverse forms of identity. The researchers Richardson and Dorr (2003) have not treated the issue of ethnic groups and their contribution in crafts industries in detail. They built their judgments on the fact that crafts in the capital Muscat, asserted that Omani ethnic groups are involved deeply in crafts industries and this could be considered as a generalisation. They did not provide any evidence to show ethnic groups involvement in crafts in the other areas of Oman. The art and crafts of ethnic groups as a research topic, appears in some studies, such as Gary Ferraro (2001), when he dedicated a full chapter to discussing art and its relation to anthropology. Also, Coote and Shelton (1992) when they presented Australian Aborigines, New Guinea, Indonesia, and Mexico ethnic groups arts and crafts. Furthermore, Afred Gell (1998) where he explored the anthropological theories of visual art using traditions - European, Indian, Polynesian, Melanesian, and Australian ethnic art and crafts. The ethnic crafts’ production line suggestion will cost the PACI money and effort to meet the authority's cultural objectives only, as the production line method (by prototyping crafts objects) usually creates a type of craft with less consideration of the market and the demands of the contemporary consumer. This comes about because the priority will be given to imitating ethnic styles of production.

A STUDY TRIBAL HANDICRAFTS MAKER’S INCOME IN NANDURBAR DISTRICT (M. S)

India is very rich with the variety of aboriginal tribes . The tribals have a very rich socio-cultural history. They have enriched the Indian arts and crafts with their innovations and creativity .Their arts and crafts have the speciality of being eco- friendly and using the local natural resources .The art and crafts of the tribals cause no harm to nature and environment .The tribal people are basically the worshippers of nature and so their music, dance, folk, literature arts, crafts, painting are harmonious with nature. The tribals have very brilliantly used there crafts for their livelihood. But widespread modernization has posed same challenges before the tribals regarding the very sustainability of their arts and crafts. As deforestation increased highly in the Satpura mountain the tribal people are facing the decline of their handicrafts .As the tribal people are greatly affected by the displacement caused by Sardar Sarovar in Nandurbar district.

Indian Crafts: Multiple Product Break Even Analysis

Ms Sunayna, while talking to her cousin, who had visited her outlet Indian Crafts (IC) for the first time, was sharing her concerns about low sales in recent months. Rupee sales per invoice from repeat customers were going down. Sales from new customers were high but new customer generation was very low. She was very much concerned about declining sales and profits over the previous two years and was looking for ways to revive sales of IC. She also had an inventory which was not moving, especially some costly paintings and large artefacts. Now that her brother Mr Jatin Kumar was not interested in this business, the entire responsibility was on her shoulders. With more than five years in business, she understood it well and was in a position to take on all responsibilities. During this period, she had mostly handled sales but recently she dealt with vendors, organized theme events, and was confident of operating the stores herself. She had to do something in a short time to turn around declining sales or otherwise may be the business would have to be closed down. She was sure that Mr Jatin Kumar will be always available if she wanted to discuss anything or needed guidance in any matter.

Best laid plans: Research design and the field in a study of crafts in the Hampi region

Abstract The article engages with debates on the contemporary practice of ‘traditional’ regional Indian crafts and the disciplinary position of craft at a time when the roles traditionally assigned to academia, patrons (industry and craft non-governmental organizations [NGOs]) and craftspeople are in flux. The author takes the reader through a self-reflexive journey of unlearning based on her experiences as project researcher on an initiative to document traditional crafts in and around the Hampi World Heritage site. What began as an ‘objective’ attempt to present a comprehensive field-based project to document the living craft traditions of a region transformed into a discussion on the politics of research. The example of the Hampi project made it clear to the author that knowledge production is dialogic. ‘Field’, ‘place’ and ‘community’, whether project committee, general public or craftspeople (so-called objects of enquiry), can and do influence the parameters of research design. And this understanding leads to an acceptance on her part that, in turn, ‘researchers’ can only impact the field in a limited way. Consequently, a more useful role for herself and other communities, including craft NGOs, might be that of giving voice to the voiceless, in this instance, craftspeople. More significantly that the views and concerns of craftspeople do matter irrespective of whether they are in accord with the views of individuals, groups or communities that seek to support them, whether craft industry, patrons or researchers.

Aavaran: creating niche through contemporary traditional textiles

Subject area Marketing. Study level/applicability The case is aimed at Business Administration students. Case overview Udaipur based Aavaran – the echos of rural India – is a concept by COS-V, a leading non-governmental organization (NGO), which aims at connecting the tribal women of rural India with the mainstream. The NGO, set up in 1988 by Smt. Girija Vyas, was initially involved in imparting vocational training to the rural poor. Later, COS-V was taken up by Alka Sharma, a graduate from the Indian Institute of Crafts and Design, Jaipur, who completely changed the direction of the NGO. Her interest in textiles and crafts led to the genesis of the concept “Aavaran”. Aavaran is a retail outlet which was opened with a vision to provide the Indian market with traditional yet contemporary textiles and clothing. It offers a collection of women's and children's clothing and home textiles using a variety of traditional textiles and crafts. It is an artisan driven concept where the supply chain incorporates the essence of Indian textiles and crafts at every level. From the dyeing, printing, sampling and assembly of garments everything is done by the local women trained by COS-V with the support of DC-Handicrafts. The raw materials – the textiles, grey fabrics, etc. – are sourced directly from the rural weavers and artisans across India. The case study discusses how Aavaran developed the unique positioning of a retail platform for contemporary products made from traditional techniques, skills and hand-based processes; how it could revive the diminishing arts of Dabu and Phetia and how it carved a niche through its channelized marketing efforts. Expected learning outcomes The case will familiarize management students with the concept of niche marketing with Udaipur based firm Aavaran as an example which developed a unique positioning through its traditionally developed products. It will also acquaint students with a basic understanding of a supply chain with a cooperative firm in focus. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Useful knowledge, ‘industrial enlightenment’, and the place of India

AbstractResearch is now turning to the missing place of technology and ‘useful knowledge’ in the debate on the ‘great divergence’ between East and West. Parallel research in the history of science has sought the global dimensions of European knowledge. Joel Mokyr's recentThe Enlightened Economy(2009) argued the place of an exceptional ‘industrial enlightenment’ in Europe in explaining industrialization there, but neglected the wide geographic framework of European investigation of the arts and manufactures. This article presents two case studies of European industrial travellers who accessed and described Indian crafts and industries at the time of Britain's industrial revolution and Europe's Enlightenment discourse on crafts and manufactures. The efforts of Anton Hove and Benjamin Heyne to ‘codify’ the ‘tacit’ knowledge of a part of the world distant from Europe were hindered by the English East India Company and the British state. Their accounts, only published much later, provide insight into European perceptions of India's ‘useful knowledge’.

The Rise of Athletic Masculinity at the Carlisle Indian School, 1904–1913

Following the dismissal of Captain Richard Pratt from the position of superintendent in 1904, the Carlisle Indian School entered a new era. The school became more focused on vocational education and moved away from offering immediate civilisation to the students. The school even promoted Indian arts and crafts. This move was also reflected in sport at Carlisle. The school became determined to construct a successful athletic programme. This resulted in the rise of masculine gamesmanship among the athletes. This, combined with racial pride, formed the basis of the athletes' manhood in the post-Pratt era. Yet, despite the demonstration of superior masculinity through victories, the school still positioned the students as subordinate to white men. The players were portrayed as comparatively unintelligent; they were apparently incapable of actually coaching the team.

Material Destinies: Jewelry, Authenticity, and Craft in the American Southwest

This article considers the representation and interpretation of Native American jewelry of the American Southwest. It gives a broad history of silversmithing and lapidary traditions, in order to contextualize the tangible and intangible values bestowed on silver and stone as pure, worked, and combined materials. It suggests the benefit of a more nuanced interpretation which teases out the distinctions between indigenous and external attributions of the intangible and tangible values attaching themselves to jewelry as “craft.” Considering two iconic photographs taken in the late nineteenth century, it explores differing perceptions of these techniques at this time. While jewelry making has been perceived as part of the ordained quartet of “Indian arts and crafts,” its status has been extensively debated under the impact of commercialization and technical modernization in the early twentieth century. Debates that arose in the 1930s, which sought to define and regulate the genuine and handmade aspects of jewelry as craft, raged for much of the decade. This moment of definition has had lasting influence on the perception of jewelry, and the authentication of jewelry as craft, particularly when it is produced for a connoisseurial market. This raises the question of whether viewing jewelry as craft within this context misses a key aspect, namely its function as indigenous adornment, where materials and process are subsidiary to use, color, and communication.

Caddo Pottery in Modern and Contemporary Art and Protection of Native American Cultures in Fine Arts by the IACB’s Indian Arts and Crafts Act

Hello, my name is Chase Kawinhut Earles. I was named by Julia Edge, daughter of Pauline Washington, who was the granddaughter of the Caddo chief, George Washington. I recently, well, not that very long ago started creating Caddo pottery with the much appreciated guidance from Jeri Redcorn. I have been an artist all my life, but mostly only a painter, not much clay, sculpture or pottery. I was inspired to create pottery though, but my experiences were with the Southwest and the Pueblo artists, as this is what I grew up around and what I learned. But I never started. I never found any inspiration. I realized one day it was because I am not a Pueblo Indian and creating Pueblo or Southwest pottery would, to me, feel hollow. I would feel as though I was just creating knock-offs or replications, and not truly inspired or authentic art. This beginning is what defines me and my ideas about Native American Art. Jeri Redcorn and I are two of only maybe a few active Caddo traditional potters. As we work to revive our long tradition and heritage of pottery we have started to unfold an ancient legacy that has proven to be very unique among other native cultures.

Rabbits and Flying Warriors: The Postindian Imagery of Jim Denomie

In an era defined by self-determination and decolonization, it is refreshing and startling to hear about indigenous artists making every effort possible not to be “Indian artists.”1 Although the phrase Indian art is still commonplace in the vernacular of indigenous artists, historians, and critics, it is used within a community that has undergone substantial changes since the post-1945 generation of artists, including Oscar Howe (Lakota) and Allan Houser (Apache), first confronted a conservative and largely Euro-American–controlled art establishment that unequivocally shunned their efforts to create an indigenous discourse on modernist aesthetics. Especially since the rise of the Institute of American Indian Art (IAIA) during the early 1960s, one has seen artists from a range of tribal backgrounds striving to exceed the limitations of “Indian art,” which is a nonindigenous identity imposed primarily by well-meaning patrons of Native North American art—most famously Dorothy Dunn and Mabel Lujan. Although these patrons revered the artwork of the indigenous imagination, they nonetheless stifled efforts at responding and adapting to a drastically changing world. Consequently, although the Indian art of the 1920s and 1930s may have reflected the climate of reform and a more enlightened acceptance of American Indian cultures, as epitomized by the 1934 Wheeler-Howard Act (Indian Reorganization Act) and the 1935 Indian Arts and Crafts Act, Indian easel art—most notably, the San Ildefonso watercolorists—was frozen in time

The Indian Fashion Industry and Traditional Indian Crafts

This study documents the emergence of the high-end fashion industry in India from the mid-1980s to 2005. Drawn from oral histories, magazine articles, and several databases, the study demonstrates that the Indian fashion industry's unique identity, based on heavily embellished traditional styles rather than innovative Western-style cuts and designs, was the result of the actions of early entrepreneurs.

Constructing Authenticity: The Indian Arts and Crafts Board and the Eastern Band of Cherokees, 1935–1985

Constructing Authenticity: The Indian Arts and Crafts Board and the Eastern Band of Cherokees, 1935–1985

Of Kitsch and Kachinas: A Critical Analysis of the "Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990"

Of Kitsch and Kachinas: A Critical Analysis of the "Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990"

E.B. Havell and the Metamorphosis of Indian Crafts

E.B. Havell and the Metamorphosis of Indian Crafts

Ceci n’est pas Jimmie Durham

This article examines the idea that there can (or cannot) be an authentic cultural identity. Debates about identity and authenticity are particularly prevalent in North America where the idea of authentic (and inauthentic) Native identities is very strong, both ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ Native communities. This is particularly so in terms of debates about treaty rights and resources wherein the issue of authenticity can be used as a benchmark for recognizing (or not recognizing) the claims of an individual, group or community. These questions will be explored by looking at how they are approached by the artist and writer Jimmie Durham, within the context of a piece of legislation known as the Indian Arts and Crafts Act (PL 101-644). This legislation and Durham’s responses, provide a useful viewpoint in terms of contributing to the ongoing debates about authenticity, identity and the politics of representation. I will attempt to demonstrate that these issues, although grounded in the ‘art world’, draw many parallels with the cultural, social, economic and political control and marginalization of North America’s indigenous peoples.