Lacquered Craft
Lacquer is derived from the excretion of an insect which is named as “Tachardia Lacca”. In modern usage, lac based varnishes and craft has gained importance in India.
Lacquered crafts of Orissa are renowned for the traditional creations of the craftsmen who create different eye catching items with lac. Lac is cultivated in Orissa and the availability of this raw material is one of the reasons of the development of this craft in the state of Orissa. Another reason why lac crafts have flourished in Orissa is due to the fascination of lac combs among the local people. Nowrangapur in Koraput, Orissa is the best known center for lac combs made from jungle lac. The combs are created by the men and women folk of the state. This lac combs are of two distinct shapes that include the quadrangular shape of combs and the circular combs. The quadrangular shaped combs are mainly used by men and the circular combs are used by the women. The combs are skillfully designed with decorative motifs with jungle-lac.
Apart from creating lac combs, the lac crafts of Orissa also include the lacquered bamboo craft. Items like coasters, boxes of different size, wall hangings, folk figures and animal figurines etc are made by the artisans with immense creativity. The local women of this state play a major part in developing this craft as they create astounding lac items with the help of simple tools like scissor, needle and wooden rods. The craft of lacquer ware on wood is practiced in almost the entire country but the items of Navrangapur of Korapet stands apart because of the usage of lacquer, on bamboo products. The lac is melted and mixed with various hues to give specific shade to the items. After this, different coloured lacquers are used to draw the base of the items to create folk designs in floral geometric shapes with attractive borders and exclusive patterns.
The lac crafts of Orissa have expanded because of the creativity of local artisans. The simplicity that is transformed into intricate embellishments on the items has increased the demand of these items in local market.
