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Wood works get GI Tags
- The Thanjavur Netti Works and Arumbavur wood carvings have been given Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Geographical Indications Registry.
- It was a long seven years wait for the artisans of Tamil Nadu to get a Geographical Indication tag
Location
- Thanjavur Netti Works – Villages around Thanjavur city
- Arumbavur Wood Carvings – villages of Perambalur district (including Arumbavur)
- Arumbavur Wood Carvings
- Thanjavur Netti Works
Arumbavur Wood Carving
- Arumbavur Wood Carving is done at Arumbavur and around the Veppanthattai taluk of Perambalur district.
- The wood carvings are primarily made out of wooden logs of Indian siris, mango, lingam tree, Indian ash tree, rosewood, neem tree.
- The carvings in Arumbavur Wood Carvings are often inspired by architectural details on temple sculptures and carvings indigenous to the region
- The dimensions of the wood blocks used depend on the wooden sculpture to be carved. Usually, the statues are crafted in the range of 1 to 12 feet.
- Sculptures of Lord Vinayaka, Goddess Saraswati, Lord Krishna, Lord Siva and Goddess Parvathi can be seen in Arumbavur Wood Carvings
- The artisans use traditional instruments like gouges for carving and believe there is no place for machines in the work.
- Picture courtesy – Sthapathi Wood
- Temple chariots and temple cars used during processions of deities
- Arumbavur wood carvings can be seen in several temple cars in the temples of Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Perambalur, Tiruchy, Villupuram, Salem, Thanjavur and Madurai districts.
- A unique characteristic of this craft is that the whole design is carved out of a single block of wood and a minute error will damage the whole work.
Thanjavur Netti Works (Pith Work)
- Sola pith is a white, light weight sponge wood grown in marshy water logged area.
- The pith is obtained from netti, a hydrophyte plant called as Aeschynomene aspera.
- pith – The soft, spongy central cylinder of
- parenchymatous tissue in the stems of
- dicotyledonous plants.
- The soil found in Thanjavur is favourable for the growth of the plant that is used for the production of pith handicraft based in Thanjavur.
- The notable works from Thanjavur Netti Works include models of the Brihadeeshwara Temple, Hindu idols, garlands, door hangings and show pieces used for decoration.
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