STONEWORK
INDIAN HANDICRAFTS – STONEWORK
Stonework carving, is the ancient art of cutting natural rough rocks or stones into utility and decorative items. The end products are permanent and are least affected by forces of nature. Thousands of year old remains of rock cut artifacts have been excavated by the historians and archeologists depicting the existence of this art form from time unknown.
Stonework has been found to exist in almost all parts of the world. The raw material used depends on the local availability of the same. Compared to some art forms, where the end products can be modified, this form of the craft leaves little or no scope of rectification. The end product has to be made in a single attempt and needs a lot of skill and dexterity.
In SoapStone Carving of Madhya Pradesh, soapstone is used mainly for shaping and carving idols in many villages like Bastar which have shrines with stone idols. The villages of Bade Dongar, Chotta Dongar, Dantewada, Narangpal. And also many state make Stone Carving such as, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Himachal, Kerala, Andhra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and other.