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Every major Indian city showcases the country’s handicrafts at fixed costs at its Cottage Industries Emporiums. Artifacts in bronze, brass, ivory, marble, wood or even inlay work in marble is available here. Take your pick from Orissa silver and the inimitable pearls in Hyderabad. Bric-a-Bracs in sandstone, soapstone, sandalwood, metal and clay and folk paintings like Madhubani are also at hand in the local bazaars.
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Every state of India showcases its products at fixed rates at the Cottage Industries Emporium in major cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai.
Available are artifacts in bronze, brass, ivory, marble or wood. You’ll find statues, lap shades, chairs, delicate filigree work on ivory and silver, marble inlaid with precious colored stones, enamel work ‘Kundan’ or ‘Meenakari’ jewellery of Rajasthan, silver from Orissa and Pearls from Hyderabad. Brass work from Jaipur, black stylized vases and urns from Pembarthi and the polished brass mirrors of Aranmula have today evolved into design statements.
Everywhere in India one finds idols and statues in temples and on the streets. It was natural that sculpting skills be developed. The granite and bronze sculptures of south India have continued an unbroken lineage from the Chola period dating back a thousand years. The ever-popular Lord Ganesh, God of prosperity, assumes various forms in each state with innumerable materials from humble clay, stone to metal.
Marble sculptures are found mostly in the north and one can pick up a cornucopia of typical in laid hand- moulded jars, plates, and latticed panels. Boxes, Plaques, bowls in sandstone and soapstone can be picked up as you stroll along the colorful bazaars of south India’s towns. Blue- black phyllite is used by carvers in Santhal-Paranas in Bengal.
Art is eternal. From the primitive cave paintings of Bhimbetka, to the cubist influenced M.F.Hussain, all hues of India show up in galleries and shops. An interesting buy are folk paintings from Madhubani, in which women paint symbolic fertility pictures with natural pigments.
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