AN INITIATIVE OF CRAFT REVIVAL TRUST.  Since 1999
Stone Icon Carving of Tamil Nadu

Stone

Stone Icon Carving of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is a well known for the carving of stone sculptures and icons at Swamimalai, Ramanathapuram, Trunelveli, Tiruchirapalli, Thanjavur and Kanyakumari districts. Stone icons are also made in Gopichettipalayam and Satyamangalam in Salem district and Tiruvannamalai which are also noted for local stone carvings. The village of Madayur near Vellore is known for folk-style small carvings of humans, animals, birds and reptiles.

The stone artisans are called as Sthapathis and they belong to the Viswakarma community. These carvers are also known as Kamalas, a corruption of the word kannalan (one who gives or rules the eye) perhaps because they carve the eyes last, as only then does the figure assumes its entity. They use traditional methods of stone carving, using the proportions prescribed in the Shilpa Shastra. They are polished by hand to give the figures a good patina and high shine. Rubbing with wax is also done to give the figures a lustrous appearance.

One of the specialties of stone carving at Tamil Nadu is the depiction of animal and bird life. This is especially seen in the carvings at Mahabalipuram. One common animal is the Yali, a combination of an elephant and a lion widely found in South Indian cosmology

Gallery

YOUR VIEWS

PRACTITIONERS: INDIA

Access 70,000+ practitioners in 2500+ crafts across India.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

10,000+ listings on arts, crafts, design, heritage, culture etc.

GLOSSARY

Rich and often unfamiliar vocabulary of crafts and textiles.

SHOP at India InCH

Needs to be written.