Leather Embroidery on Products of Rajasthan

There are several communities involved in making products from leather, with each dealing with a separate process. The people who flay the animals are distinct from the tanners who use a process locally known as rangna. The makers of saddle products are jingarhs and the makers of musical instruments are debgars. In the hands of the artisan, the hide is transformed with skill and dexterity into a range of different and unusual products.
Another leather product is the knucklepad on which miniature landscapes and festive scenes are embroidered like in Rajput paintings. The details of the embroidery are carefully worked out, especially of group compositions, and the scenes depicted include human figures, along with floral and bird designs. Bikaner and Jaisalmer are known for ornately decorated leather saddles for horses and camels. Leather shields prepared with lacquer colour paint are made in Shahpura, though these are not used any more.
Leather bookbinding in Alwar is of extremely good quality. Designs are painted on the leather after they are outlined with a brass block. The covers have borders either in various shades or on a gold coloured base.