AGATE STONE WORK
Products
Mala-necklaces
Paperweights
Toys
Lampshades
Nameplate
Photoframes
Ritual objects
THE SEMI-PRECIOUS AGATE stone is used in the construction of many
jewellery forms,most of which were previously created primarily for export
purposes as the jewellery tradition of India is largely based on gold and silver
work.Recently however,the changing lifestyle of India`s burgeoning urban
population has led to the creation of an indigenous market for agate stone
jewellery.The increasing popularity of agate for use as personal
ornamentation is also due to the belief in the stone`s healing properties and
its ability to rectif the imbalance of energies of a specfic place or person.The
town of Khambhat is the chief production centre for agate stone ware with
many of its resident artisans specializing in a specific stage of the craft
process such
Imitation Jewellery
Idols
as in stone cutting ,shaping,polishing,drilling
and the making of the final product.The
technique utilized varies as per the density of
each stone.Soft stones like crystal and rose
quartz,for example,require gentle handling
while carnelian needs to be heated and dried
because of its characteristics moistness.The
pale yellow stone is broken,shaped and put
into small terracotta pots topped with
matti.These pots are then put in the bhatti
along with the wood waste and burnt;as a
result of this heating process,the stone turns
red.
Sculptures
Statues
Displaying objects
Production Clusters
Anand district:
Khambhat
Tools
Singodi-buffalo-horn
headed hammer
Drilling machine
1. Shaped and polished clear quartz
beads.
2. Rounded,convex rhomboidal
beads made from banded agate.
3. Polished (right)and unpolished
(left)cat`s eye stone;these stones
are extremely popular,especially
with Muslim tourists,suppossedly
due to their resemblance to a
moon in eclipse.Beads shaped
from stones with a natural eye
form are used as protective
amulets in West Asia.
4. The tasbih dana,or 100 bead
rosary of red agate is popular
among Muslim customers
because of its religious
significance.
5. Necklace made from agate stone
beads.The colour of the carnelian
(red agate)is proportionate to the
heat it is given,making it possible
to have a range of warm colours
from light orange to deep red.
6. Lathe turned and polished bowl
made from camelian (red-orange
agate)stone.
7. A semi-finished bowl made from
agate stone.
8. A finished bowl made from agate
stone.
BEAD WORK
COLOURFUL BEADED ORNAMENTS are widely
used by the tribal communities of this region.These
ornaments are the preferred means of personal
oranamentation as they serve as an inexpensive
alternative to silver while displaying a unique local
aethetic. Red, green, white, black, yellow and blue
beads,known as moti,are usually bought at Chota
Udaipur.The bead work,executed with nylon threads,is
usually undertaken by the tribal women in leisure
hours.Woollen threads are selected for use in the
remainder of the ornament due to their availibility in
wide range of colours.
Production Clusters
Vadodara district:
Tejgadh
Chota Udaipur
Products
Haar-necklaces
Payal-anklets
Butti-earrings
Keddchulo-waist
belts
Haath ni pattibracelets
Tools
1. Although practiced primarily in the tribal
region,bead work is also executed in other
regions of Gujarat such as in the district of
Mahesana where the typical products have
include beaded pot resets or indhoni.
2. Kedchula,a beaded tribal jewellery item used
either as a keychain or worn on the girdle.
3. A tribal necklace made of blue and white
beads,Tejgadh.
4. A beadedd Kathiawadi hand fan from the
Saurashta region.
Thread and needle