Design Resource
Bone Carving-Lucknow
The Art of Carving Intricate Patterns
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral with J. Antony William
Tools and Raw Materials
Tools used in bone carving are as follows:
Basula: The type of hammer that is used for cutting the bone in desired shapes and sizes.
Reti-Files: Used for planning the surface.
Chausi: It is a Chisel used for carving intricate jaalis. Round, half-round and flat chisels are used as per the requirement.
Tekora: Used to file the small holes of jaali. Tekora is made out of the thin wire. The fine wire is shaped to make the groves.
Thiya: Used as a base to work on, Thiya is a circular wooden block with a small stand in between.
Prakar: It is a Compass used for marking the design.
Drilling Machine: Used to drill the holes on bone.
Buffing Machine: Used to polish the final product.
• Raw Material:
The raw material mainly used is the ‘Bone’. Initially craftsmen used elephant tusk to carve out elaborate decorative and functional pieces. Due to the ban on the use of elephant tusk artisans have now moved to alternative raw material and use bones of camel or buffalo. These bones are brought from the butcher's shop at the rate of Rs. 3000/- to Rs. 5000/- depending on the quality and size.
There are four types of bones procured from the animals:
Tersoor: A Grade (Rs. 14/- kg)
Gola: B Grade (Rs. 12/- kg)
Bhanhu: C Grade (Rs. 8/- kg)
Paaya: D Grade (Rs. 6/- kg)
Tersoor is the best and artisan can obtain up to 1 inch thick strip from it.
