PM Modi’s gifts to G7 leaders, who gets what

Subject :History

Section: Art and Culture

Black Pottery pieces for Japanese PM

The Black Pottery of Nizamabad in Uttar Pradesh uses a special technique to bring out black colours.
This involves ensuring that there is no scope for oxygen to enter the oven as pottery pieces are kept inside and the heat level remains high.
The presence of oxygen can turn the pottery red.
The glaze on the pottery comes from the high zinc content of the soil and the layer of mustard oil applied before firing the pottery.
It comes with and without inlay.

Dokra art to presidents of Argentina and South Africa

Dokra art is non-ferrous metal casting art that uses the lost-wax casting technique.
This technique has been in use for over 4,000 years in India, and is still practiced by artisans in central and eastern India.
It is in great demand in domestic and foreign markets because of its primitive simplicity, folk motifs and forceful form.

Hand painted tea set to UK PM

A tea set from Bulandshahr district was presented to the British PM, with its base form hand painted and fired at 1,200 degrees Celsius.
In this craft form, the embossed outlines are laid on manually with a mehendi cone and require an extremely confident hand.
Each shape is then separately filled with colour and the entire cup is fired again.
The crockery was outlined with platinum metal paint in honor of the Queen’s platinum jubilee being celebrated this year.

Moonj baskets, cotton durries for Senegal’s president

In Senegal, the tradition of hand weaving is passed down from mother to daughter, adding to its importance as a vehicle for cultural expression and family livelihood – driven by strong women.
The same is done in Prayagraj, Sultanpur and Amethi districts of the state of Uttar Pradesh, where Moonj or Saccharum Bengalense plant is now acting as a sustainable source of income for rural women.
Like Senegalese baskets, Moonj craft also utilises bright, jewel tone colours.
The cotton durries are handwoven in Sitapur.

Lacquerware Ram Darbar to Indonesian president

The GI-tagged lacquerware art-form has its roots in the temple town of Varanasi.
The process is a tedious one, requiring assembly of a base wooden form with separate limbs, which is covered layered by layer with distemper or lac-based paint.
True to their city of origin, lacquerware items always come in bright, jewel tones.
This particular piece is made of Gular wood.
The principal characters in the artwork are Lord Ram, Sita, Hanuman and Jatayu.
It is believed that the Indonesian version of Ramayana was written during the Medang Kingdom (8th to 11th century) in Central Java.
The story of Ramayana was narrated to the people through shadow puppetry (wayangkulit and wayangpurwa).