 The wood-carving is one of the best known cottage industries of the Kashmir valley.
Relief wood carvings frequently adorn the cabinets, chairs, tables, jewellery boxes and ornamental caskets produced in Kashmir. Wood carving is also done on a large scale on the doors, walls and windows of traditional Kashmiri houses. Popular motifs of such relief carvings are the various kinds of flowers and plants in Kashmir. These relief carvings require a high level of expertise, patience and fortitude.
Substantial amounts of walnut and chinar wood found abundant in the Kashmir valley allow a ready supply of raw materials for wood carving.
Some of the walnut wood products-cigar boxes and trays, table-tops, handkerchief and collar boxes-are delicately carved. Floral designs of almost every conceivable variety are made with great accuracy of detail in chased or raise work.
The best Kashmiri woodcarving is Khatam-band. Khatam-band refers to the carvings of relief patterns on the ceilings of rooms. The relief is made from thin panels of pine wood, and cut into geometrical designs. The craft is passed down from one generation of houseboats builders to another. This craft finds expression in the famous shrine of Khwaja Naqshband, near the Jama Masjid of Srinagar.
Woodwork and wickerwork industries have flourished in Kashmiri. The artisans in Kashmir make boats which are of many sizes, and include the famous house-boats, the favorite residence of visitors during summer. The wickerwork involves chairs and tables, lunch and flower baskets, and various other articles of daily use. The earthen bowl of Kangri, the Kashmiri vessel used to counter the cold weather, is encased in wickerwork.
Kashmir Art and Craft
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