HOSHIARPUR

The district of Hoshiarpur, close to the border with Pakistan, produces dark Sheesham furniture with detailed dense foliage patterns that are both engraved and inlaid. Today the inlay is mostly acrylic but in the 19th century they used Ivory. The motifs are either of Persian origin or adaptations of the exquisite woodcarvings in the havelis, mansions, of Hoshiarpur. When the craft came to this region, the woodworkers inlaid with Ivory remnant bought from the ivory carvers of Amritsar. No Ivory is used anywhere in India following the international ban on Ivory in 1989. The most distinctive craft used as a docorative element in Hoshiarpur woodcraft is tarkashi. The origins of the art of Tarkashi is unclear but historians agree it has its roots in northern India where it is still practiced. It is the art of inlaying brass and copper wires into wood. It is always done on hardwoods. The wire is hammered into a pattern engraved on dark Sheesham wood. The wires sit flush within the surface. Engraving is done with small chisels. The surface is finished by buffing but care is taken so that the surface does not heat up and dislodged the wires.

Hammering the wires into the wood. Notice the use of the foot for stabilising the work piece.

The box in this illustration was inlayed freehand by the craftsman. The designs were not even drawn on the wood surface. The work on this box took almost two months to complete. As with most crafts, the rising cost of materials and the need to increase productivity necessarily mean that the quality and complexity of the inlay work today is not as complex or detailed as can be found on antique pieces. In Saharanpur and Nagina the designs are mostly floral and not very intricate. In Manipuri where the craft originated, the tarkashi is very fine.

Although this casket opposite dating to c.1880 seemed expensive when I bought it, a similar one sold Christies in London for £4750 even though the pre sale estimate was only £1200-£1800. That is because the quality of the work put into these boxes is beginning to be well understood. The box, made of shisham, a type of wood native to India and related to blackwood, is extensively inlaid in ivory and ebony with floral designs within geometric borders. It stands on four feet, has a hinged lid. The edges are inlaid with alternating rosewood and ivory strips. The front, back and sides are all similarly inlaid. The interior has several compartments similarly inlaid with ivory, a mirror bordered by wooden fretwork.

This similar but smaller box was presented by Hoshiarpur District to Queen Victoria on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee. It has been on loan from the Royal Collection to the Victoria & Albert Museum since 1924. (NB The Royal Collection box is illustrated in Jaffer, A., Furniture from British India and Ceylon: A Catalogue of the Collections in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum, Timeless Books, 2001, p. 291). Queen Victoria’s box is of high-quality 19th century work, but only the edging chevrons are pinned but the one in the author’s collection pictured opposite has every small piece of Ivory inlay secured with a small pin.

The brass corner brackets were inspired by British campaign chests of the period.

Under British patronage, craftsmen began to apply their skills to western-style articles such as decorative boxes, tables, screens and small cabinets. Such goods found a ready market, not only among the British in the Panjab and major cities, but also at international exhibitions and shops in London and New York that specialised in oriental 'curiosities'. In the late 19th century, towns such as Hoshiarpur and Chiniot became centres of manufacture for vast quantities of inlaid or carved woodwork aimed at foreign markets, while Delhi and Amritsar monopolised the production and trade in solid ivory articles such as caskets and gift boxes.

Photo opposite shows a typical worker in Hoshiarpur today. The photo was taken when America still commanded some respect and admiration in the world. Note the simplicity of traditional working methods. Following the ban on ivory in 1989, these workers only use acrylic as a substitute and glue the pieces into place instead of pinning them