Channapatna/ Lac Toys and Dolls of Karnataka

These world famous wooden toys and carvings, dating back to the beginning of the 20th century, are produced at Channapatna, a small town near Bangalore in Karnataka.  The lacquerware toys and dolls are made in different colours and are greatly appreciated by people both in India and abroad. The raw material is “hale”, a very soft and lightweight wood which is grown near Channapatna. About a century ago, there were very few types of lacquerware products and these had a crude finish. Later, the craft was refined and improved with the use of a metal turned lathe which produced lacquerware products with distinctive brightness by substituting lithopone for sulphur in the manufacture of colour.