Mysore Rosewood Inlay: A Perpetual Art of Turning Wood into Wonders

1. Mysore Rosewood  Inlay: A Perpetual  Art of Turning  Wood into  Wonders 

2. Age is deliberated about as a pillager of aesthetic. But, art is something that grows more venerable and comely as it gets older. Age adds but an element of timelessness, pricelessness, and a precipitous sensation of reverence to the artists and craftsmen who work on perfecting minuscules of details of a piece of craft. ​Mysore Rosewood Inlay is one such art. Although the renowned wood art was originated 400 years back, it still interests a great sum of people. What is Mysore Rosewood Inlay? Mysore Rosewood Inlay is a technique of crafting beautiful wall arts or decoratives by inserting a range of materials (MOP, ivory shell, and sandalwood) and colours into depressions in a ornate piece crafted out of rosewood. The adornment of all the elements is carried out in a way that a symmetric appeal is reflected. The History of the Mysore Rosewood Inlay This unique wooden art of Mysore dates back to 400 years during the reign of Jayachamaraj Wodeyar Bahadur who was the last king of Mysore. Under the rule of Wodeyar, the Rosewood crafting was on the pinnacle.

3. Since the masses of rosewood trees surrounded Mysore, this raw material became easy-to-harvest back then. Later, the work and approaches of a gifted artisan ‘Shokat Ali’ helped this form of wood-crafting bring into recognition. Raw Material and Tools Required Decades ago, during the reigns of kings, the primary material used for the inlay work were rosewood and ivory. However, the advent of the ‘ivory ban’ in India led artisans to find alternatives to the elephant tusks. Nowadays, cedar, chill pine, sandalwood, and rubber tree wood are the most widely used base frames preceding to rosewood for inlay work. The fact that shows the exclusivity of a certain type of art or craft is, the tools used to develop a masterpiece, are very basic and minimal. For instance, when one gets a chance to perceive the finest of a rosewood inlay, it’d be hard for one

4. to guess it has been crafted out with the mere plier, scrapping chisels, hammer, hex saw, hand drills and flint papers. Rosewood Inlay: The Making Process The complete process of an attractive rosewood inlay is intricate and combines a number of processes. The artisans who cut, peel, and color the wooden base frames, also have to be the masters of sketching as drawing the concept makes the first step. The sketch then gets converted into stencils which later are used to cut out the wood frames, chisel to engrave certain images, and rubbed with flint papers to harmonize the elevation among different pieces. Later, a mix of charcoal and molten wax is applied to the surface with a cloth. The final, finished product is obtained by removing the coat. Wrapping Up The Mysore Rosewood Inlay, along with a number of other kinds of crafts, thrived by a great extent during the reigns of kings. Gradually, the effect of this art begun to fade until it was accorded Geographical Indication tag 13 years ago by the Government of India. Sources​​: www.dsource.in

5. www.en.wikipedia.org Original Source : http://bit.ly/2NYa12y