Lacquerware From Chennapatna

Lac or shellac is found in abundance in nature. People from very ancient times use it in various arts and crafts. It is actually a natural resin produced from crimson red tiny insects, which thrive on certain species of trees. Even at Vedas, in Atharva Veda a small chapter is being devoted to the lac insects. In the epic Mahabharata, Kauravas conspired against Pandavas and made a lac palace so that it could easily be set on fire. It was 3000 years ago! Like the short lived resin, its history is lost, but its brilliant red dye continues to attract as never before.

Lac is still a popular among many carpenters, Cartwright, turner and shoemaker, and all this craftsmen use lac in some form or other in everyday life. The lac is used to plug and concealed the blemishes and defects, sometimes surface is uniformly varnished or colored with lac where it is desired. Jewelers load hollow gold and silver ornaments with lac or fix stones in it.

Chennapatna is a small town in Karnataka where lac is particularly used to made different lacquerwares. Lac turning has been practiced in the small town of Chennapatna in Karnataka as a local industry till 1920s, when the government attempted to give it a more comprehensive role by starting a training school in lacquerware toys to expand the prospect of artists.

The toys and other artifacts are made up of mostly of hale wood and sometimes yellow teak wood. . Its softness, white color and easy availability make it ideal for the turning and lacquering process. The wood is well seasoned first, before being shaped on the lathe. Originally a manual lathe called pattari was used and still is, by some artisans. But most of the them prefer to use lathe for basic shapes and apply the lacquer decoration by hand, with shellac and aniline colors. Colored lacqer comes in thin strips, which are pressed over the articles as the lathe revolves and the heat thus generated melts the lac. Later, coconut oil and the screw pine leaf give a brilliant shine to the piece.

Around 250 artists live here, working on their lathes. Some of the famous exponents of this are are Makkan Yelakki, mmer Mitty, Shafullah, Beeraiyah, Sued Jamur and Chikkathayamma. Their work is not only renowned in India but also famous in abroad and won many prizes. The artists have caught on to marketing and designing trends with great gusto. While the men work on the lathe, the women and children give the finishing touch.