Crafts, Handlooms, Art, Craftspersons/ Artisanal
Shell Craft of West Bengal
Bhasin, Sonali
Issue #003,Summer, 2019
White shells and Mother of Pearl are most commonly utilized to create jewelry, souvenirs and objects crafted in West Bengal the specialty is the crafting of Conch shells/Shankha for ritual, festive and decorative purposes.
The tradition of preparing and working on conch shells is an ancient one. They have been used in India since Vedic times and are considered auspicious by both Hindus and Buddhists. Traditionally, priests use them to drive away evil spirits, at the beginning of weddings, sacrifices, or at other Hindu rites. Buddhists also blow conch shells as a sound offering.
The Conch shell continues to be part of religious practice and is blown to drive away evil spirits, to commence something new and auspicious, to accomplish a successful puja process or ritual, and additionally for celebrating victories or happy occasions. The Shankha bangles are also considered a must-wear for married Bengali Hindu ladies.
Going beyond these bounds the Conch shell carvers create a large variety of articles of detailed patterning and design. These include images of deities like Durga, Laxmi, Sri Krisna on the shell; entire episodes from epics and mythological stories or single motifs of floral or ornamental patterns. Besides making items such as paperweights, boxes, agarbati stands, buttons, vermillion container, cup, spoon, fork, door hangings, they craft hair clips, pins, and jewelry - bangles, broaches, earrings, necklaces, pendants . In s...
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