Introduction

Design Resource

Marble Stone Carving - Varanasi

The Skillful Crafts in Stone

Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Ranjitha M. C.

Introduction

Varanasi is also known as cultural capital of India. Whereas Varanasi has its unique culture and also known as Banaras or Kashi. Kashi Vishwanath temple is the most famous Hindu temple and it is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. Varanasi has its own distinctive style of stone carving. Stone sculpture is an old and unique method of giving shape to the rough natural stone. The tradition of stone sculpture has started from 3200 BC and continued to the present era. There are several types of stones, which are mainly used for sculpture, are granite, limestone, sandstone, marble, soapstone, alabaster etc., Sculptors choose marble as their first choice because of its white shining surface, easy to work and it becomes hard and dense with age. White marble is a semi-transparent glass like stone, which permit light to penetrate into the stone resulting in the classic waxy look. Marble is one of the unusual stone hence it is expensive than other types of rock used in sculpture. Some of the world’s most famous sculptures are produced from marble.

The marble sculptures are very famous in all over the world. The stone art is much common in every state of India. In India most of the marble sculptures are employed for sacred purpose. The creative artwork of marble sculptures allows admirable style and designs of best artistry that are accomplished with quality. Indian marble sculptors are recognized for refined proportion that is attained in the figures and the elegant designs in the architecture with the evenness.

Rajasthan is one of the marbles producing state in India. Marble sculptures not only long-lasting but they are classy and sophisticated as well. White marble is not only used for sculptures but also for building monuments. The 7^th wonder of the world, Taj Mahal of Agra built by a great Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and the Supreme Court building was constructed by using several different types of marble and Temples of Dilwara in Mount Abu are the best examples.

Mr. Arun kumar sharma, a well-known senior artisan who learnt this sculpting technique from his ancestors. His grandfather has started marble carving at 1934. Mr. Sharma was interested in marble carving from his childhood. Initially they start with the clay modeling and then POP (plaster of paris) model is taken as a reference to carve marble. The price of the stone depends on the quality and the marbles are mainly brought from Rajasthan.

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Marble Stone Carving - Varanasi