Plain-language definitions of the words you meet in Indian art, crafts, textiles and collecting. Each term links to the story where it comes up, so you can read more.
Techniques and processes
Block printing
Printing patterns on cloth by pressing carved wooden blocks, dipped in dye or paste, onto the fabric by hand.
Filigree
Delicate metalwork made from fine twisted wires of silver or gold, soldered into lace-like patterns.
Read: Silver Craft
Firing
Heating shaped clay in a kiln or open fire so it hardens permanently and can no longer be softened with water.
Fresco
Wall painting done on fresh, wet lime plaster, so the pigment becomes part of the wall as the plaster dries.
Glassblowing
Shaping molten glass by blowing air into it through a long tube, then turning and tooling it while it is hot.
Read: Glassware
Glaze
A glassy coating fused onto pottery in the kiln. It makes the surface shiny and usually waterproof.
Read: Chunar Glaze Pottery
Ikat
A technique in which the yarn, not the finished cloth, is tied and dyed before weaving. The pattern appears as the cloth is woven, with soft, slightly blurred edges.
Read: Tie and Dye
Lost-wax casting
A way of casting metal. A model is made in wax and covered in clay. The mould is heated so the wax melts and runs out, and molten metal is poured into the hollow it leaves. Also called cire perdue.
Mordant
A substance, often a metal salt such as alum, that fixes a natural dye to the fibre so the colour holds.
Resist dyeing
Any dyeing method in which parts of the cloth are protected, by tying, wax or paste, so they stay undyed and form the pattern.
Read: Tie and Dye
String puppetry
Theatre in which puppets are moved from above with strings. Rajasthan’s kathputli is a well-known Indian form.
Tie and dye
Resist dyeing in which cloth is tied, twisted or folded before it goes into the dye. The tied parts stay pale and form patterns.
Read: Tie and Dye
Materials
Attar
A natural perfume oil. Traditionally, flowers or other materials are distilled and the scent is captured in sandalwood oil. Kannauj is India’s best-known attar town.
Read: Earth Aroma captured in a bottle straight from Kannauj.
Brass
An alloy mainly of copper and zinc, yellow and easy to cast and polish.
Read: Enchanting World of Dhokra Art: India’s 4,000-Year-Old Metal Casting Marvel
Bronze
An alloy mainly of copper and tin. It casts well and has been used for sculpture for thousands of years.
Read: Enchanting World of Dhokra Art: India’s 4,000-Year-Old Metal Casting Marvel
Karat
A measure of gold purity out of 24. 24 karat is pure gold, 22 karat is about 91.7 per cent gold, and 18 karat is 75 per cent.
Mitti attar
An attar that captures the smell of rain on dry earth, made by distilling baked clay into sandalwood oil.
Read: Earth Aroma captured in a bottle straight from Kannauj.
Pashmina
Very fine wool from the soft undercoat of Changthangi goats of the high Himalaya, woven into light, warm shawls.
Sterling silver
Silver that is 92.5 per cent pure. The rest, usually copper, makes it harder and more durable.
Terracotta
Fired, unglazed earthenware clay, usually reddish brown. The word is Italian for baked earth.
Read: Gorakhpur Terracotta
Zari
Metallic thread, traditionally fine silver or gold wrapped around silk, used in weaving and embroidery.
Painting traditions
Aipan
Ritual floor and wall designs of Kumaon in Uttarakhand, drawn in white rice paste on a red ochre base.
Kalamkari
Hand-painted or block-printed cotton cloth from Andhra Pradesh, traditionally coloured with natural dyes. Kalam means pen.
Kalighat painting
Bold watercolour paintings on paper, made and sold near the Kalighat temple in Kolkata in the 19th century.
Read: Kalighat Painting: The Vibrant Storytelling Art of Bengal
Madhubani (Mithila painting)
Folk painting from the Mithila region of Bihar and Nepal, known for bold outlines and spaces filled with fine patterns.
Read: Exploring the Enchanting World of Maithili Art and Madhubani Painting.
Miniature painting
Small, highly detailed paintings made for books and albums, as in the Mughal, Rajput and Pahari traditions.
Patachitra
Painting on cloth or prepared scrolls, traditional in Odisha and Bengal. Pata means cloth and chitra means picture.
Pichwai
Large painted cloth hangings made for temples of Shrinathji in Nathdwara, Rajasthan, showing the life of Krishna.
Read: Pichwai Paintings
Rogan painting
Painting on cloth with a thick paste made from boiled castor oil and pigment, practised in Kutch, Gujarat.
Read: Rogan Painting of Kutch: The Craft of Castor-Oil Paint on Cloth
Shrinathji
Krishna as a seven-year-old child holding up Govardhan hill, worshipped at Nathdwara in Rajasthan. He is the central figure of Pichwai paintings.
Read: Pichwai Paintings
Sohrai and Khovar
Mural traditions of Jharkhand painted on house walls. Sohrai is linked to the harvest and Khovar to marriage.
Warli painting
Painting of the Warli community of Maharashtra, made with simple white figures built from circles, triangles and lines.
Read: Venturing the Beauty of Warli Painting: A Cultural Heritage of Maharashtra
Textiles and dress
Bandhani
Tie-dye from Gujarat and Rajasthan in which tiny points of cloth are pinched and tied with thread before dyeing, leaving patterns of dots.
Read: Tie and Dye
Leheriya
Rajasthani resist-dyed cloth with diagonal, wave-like stripes, made by rolling and tying the fabric before dyeing.
Read: Tie and Dye
Puanchei
A colourful, richly patterned Mizo puan, a wraparound cloth from Mizoram, worn at festivals and weddings.
Read: Puanchei – Mizo Shawl
Puneri pagadi
A pre-shaped turban from Pune, Maharashtra, worn on formal and festive occasions.
Read: Puneri Pagadi
Crafts and objects
Bone carving
Carving decorative and useful objects from animal bone.
Channapatna toys
Lacquered wooden toys from Channapatna in Karnataka, turned on a lathe and coloured in bright shades.
Read: Toys of India
Chola bronze
Bronze sculptures of the Chola period in South India, cast by the lost-wax method. The dancing Nataraja is the most famous.
Read: Nataraja – Lord of Dance
Dhokra
Lost-wax metal casting practised by artisan communities of eastern and central India, known for fine wax-thread patterns on the surface.
Read: Enchanting World of Dhokra Art: India’s 4,000-Year-Old Metal Casting Marvel
Diya
A small oil lamp, usually of baked clay, lit for festivals such as Diwali.
Read: The Significance of Diya: Diwali Decoration, Light, Tradition, and Symbolism
Kathputli
String puppets of Rajasthan, made of carved wood and cloth, used to tell stories and legends.
Kushmandi wooden mask
Carved and painted wooden masks from Kushmandi in West Bengal, worn in local dance traditions.
Read: Wooden Mask of Kushmandi
Nataraja
Shiva as the Lord of Dance, shown dancing within a ring of flames.
Read: Nataraja – Lord of Dance
Rakhi
A decorated thread that a sister ties on her brother’s wrist at Raksha Bandhan, as a sign of love and protection.
Read: Evolution of Rakhi designs from Traditional to Trendy.
Stone carving
Shaping stone by chipping, cutting and polishing it with chisels and other tools. Allagadda in Andhra Pradesh is one Indian centre.
Read: Allagadda Stone Carving
Art ideas
Abstract art
Art that does not try to show things as they look, and uses shape, colour, line and texture instead.
Read: Abstract Art: A Journey Through Shapes, Colors, and Emotions
Folk art
Art made within a community’s own tradition, often by makers trained at home rather than in art schools, for everyday or ritual use.
Generative AI art
Images made by computer models trained on large collections of existing pictures, in response to written prompts.
Read: How AI is redefining art
GI tag (Geographical Indication)
A label for products whose quality or reputation comes from a particular place. In India, GIs are registered under the Geographical Indications of Goods Act of 1999.
Indus Valley Civilisation
A Bronze Age civilisation of the north-west of the Indian subcontinent, at its height from about 2600 to 1900 BCE. The bronze Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro comes from it.
Negative space
The empty space around and between the subjects of an artwork. It shapes how we see the subject.
Read: Negative Space in Art
Rasa
In Indian aesthetics, the emotional flavour that a work of art awakens in the viewer or listener.
Shadanga
The six limbs of Indian painting, a classical set of principles: form, proportion, emotion, grace, likeness and the use of colour.
Tribal art
Art of India’s Adivasi, or indigenous, communities, such as Warli, Sohrai and Khovar.
Read: Venturing the Beauty of Warli Painting: A Cultural Heritage of Maharashtra
UNESCO Creative City
A city in UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network, chosen for a creative field. Srinagar was named a Creative City for Crafts and Folk Art in 2021.
Read: Srinagar – UNESCO creative city for Crafts and Folk Arts
Collecting and the art market
Buyer’s premium
The auction house’s fee, a percentage added on top of the hammer price and paid by the buyer.
Density test
Weighing an object in air and then in water to work out its density, which helps check what metal it is made of.
Hallmark
An official mark stamped on gold or silver to certify its purity. In India, hallmarking is run by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
Hammer price
The winning bid at an auction, before the buyer’s premium, taxes and other charges are added.
Mat (mount)
A card border placed between an artwork and the frame glass. It gives the work breathing space and keeps it off the glass.
Numismatics
The study and collecting of coins, tokens and paper money.
Patina
The surface layer that forms on metal, wood or stone with age and handling. Collectors value a genuine patina, and fakers try to imitate it.
PPI and DPI
PPI is pixels per inch in a digital image. DPI is dots of ink per inch from a printer. For sizing a print, PPI is the number that matters.
Provenance
The ownership history of an artwork or antique. A clear, documented provenance supports authenticity and value.
Volumetric weight
A weight that couriers work out from a parcel’s size. If it is more than the real weight, you are charged for it instead.