The geologically old land of Rajasthan,
rich in different kinds of hard rocks like
granites, marbles, quartzite, slates, and
other metamorphic rocks, has been a stone-carver's
paradise. Right from the medieval times,
the ready availability of high-quality stone
(the use of brick was almost unknown) made
it easy for the Rajasthani builder to construct
strong and beautiful forts, palaces, and
temples. The sculptures found in the ancient
and medieval temples of Bharatpur, Baroli,
Ramgarh, Nagda, Ajmer, Chittor, Mandore,
Jaisalmer, Bikaner, and Udaipur speak highly
of the artistic skills of the Rajasthani
stonecutters. Apart from temple carvings,
the stone carvers of Rajasthan are noted
for their jali (latticework) carvings. Most
ancient palatial buildings of Rajasthan
sport jali work on their doors and windows. The jali screens, sculpted from both sandstone
and marble, were frequently used in the
windows of the zenanas (women's quarters)
enabling the women in purdah to view the
events of the courts without being seen.
The screens also offered protection from
the elements while allowing the passage
of fresh air through the intricate geometric
patterns.
Rajasthan continues to be one of major
centers of stone carving in the country.
The capital city Jaipur is the center of
marble carving in Rajasthan. Here one can
see artisans creating marble images of the
deities as well as domestic utensils such
as bowls for grinding spices and kneading
dough. At Ajmer, Udaipur, Jodhpur and Bikaner,
one comes across some very fine examples
of the intricate jali work done on screens
and panels of the royal palaces. The fine quality of marble and sandstone
extracted from the numerous quarries in
the state had given rise to a tradition
of stonemasons and sculptors. The quarries
at Makrana are quite famous, for it is from
these quarries that the marble used in the
Taj Mahal was mined. Also built using marble
from Makrana mines were the exquisite Dilwara
Jain temples at Mt Abu. Rupbas (near Agra)
and Karauli still produce the red sandstone
that was used by the Mughals to build their
forts and palaces at Agra, Delhi, and Fatehpur
Sikri.
In east Rajasthan, Kota produces
gray stone for floor making, Barmer produces
yellow marble for delicate carvings, and
Ajmer produces granites.
The soft chromatic stone mined from the
quarries of Dungarpur are used by the stone
carvers of the state for carving images
of the deities. The stone becomes black
when oiled. As the subject matter of these
images is divine, the sculptors are required
to work according to the guidelines laid
down in the Shilpa Shastra, an ancient Hindu
treatise on sculpture and architecture.
The religious themes are carved in stone
all over the state. One can see the lifelike
images being skillfully sculptured in different
varieties of stone across the state. In
Jaipur, white marble is used for carving
out statues of gods and goddesses as well
as animal and human figures.
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