Kashmiri Papier-Mache: From Pen Cases to Fine Art

The craft is made in Srinagar, the main city of Kashmir. The GI application limits the area of making to Srinagar city. A GI tag is a legal label that ties a product’s name to the place it comes from. Only goods made in that place can use the name.

What does the GI application say?

• The applicant was a society of artisans based in Srinagar.
• The goods fall under classes 16 and 20 of the GI Act, 1999.
• The base object must be made of paper pulp, paper board or light wood.
• It is coated with two layers of a paste called gacch.
• It is then hand painted, often with gold or silver.
• The last steps are a rub with jade stone and a coat of copal varnish.

How big is the trade?

• The application put the yearly turnover at about Rs 37.90 crore for 2007-08.
• It counted about 3,860 skilled artisans.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Srinagar only, hand painted”. One city, one method.

Tradition credits Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin. He ruled Kashmir from 1420 to 1470. He is said to have brought the craft from Samarkand in the 15th century. Another popular memory credits the Persian saint Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani. He is called Shah-i-Hamadan.

What do the accounts say?

• Zain-ul-Abidin brought paper makers and other craftsmen to Kashmir.
• Kashmir became the first paper-making region of India in the 15th century.
• Papier-mache is tied to this paper trade, because it needs paper as its raw material.
• Hamadani is said to have come with about 700 followers, some of them craftsmen.
• Both accounts are traditions. Writers say the craft is “said to have been” brought.

What do the old objects show?

• Few specimens from before the 19th century survive.
• So the early history rests on tradition and later writing.

What is the memory hook?

Think “sultan, Samarkand, 15th century”. Hamadani is the second name to remember.

The work has two phases. The first is sakhtasazi, which means making the base. The second is naqqashi, which means painting and finishing. Different artisans often do each phase.

What happens in sakhtasazi?

• Artisans mash paper into a pulp.
• They mix in rice straw and copper sulphate.
• The pulp is shaped over a mould and dried.
• The dried object is the base for painting.

What happens in naqqashi?

• The base is coated with gacch and smoothed.
• The artist paints it by hand with fine brushes.
• Gold or silver is added for the shine.
• The last step is a polish with jade stone and a coat of varnish.

What is the memory hook?

Think “base first, paint next”. Sakhtasazi builds. Naqqashi decorates.

Kari qalamdani means pen-case work. A qalamdan is a pen case. The craft is also called kari munaqqash, which means painted work. Pen cases were in high demand because Kashmir had many munshis. A munshi was a scribe, clerk or secretary.

Which motifs are famous?

• Gul-andar-gul means flowers within flowers.
• Gul-i-hazara means a thousand flowers.
• Gul-e-wilayat and the bagaldar chinar are other motifs.
• The chinar is the plane tree of Kashmir.
• The GI list of designs also includes durbar, shikargah, chogun, badam and sarav.

What are abina and hashiya?

• Abina is a method where the artist first sketches with a wet brush. The sketch leaves a faint watermark on drying.
• A hashiya is a border, often painted in gold. Verses were sometimes written along it.

What is the memory hook?

Think “pen case is qalamdani, flowers are gul”. The name and the motif both come from Persian.

Mughal rulers and visitors noticed the craft. The French traveller Francois Bernier wrote about it in the 17th century. The emperor Aurangzeb backed a design called subz-kar. Later, shawls were sent to France in papier-mache boxes.

What do the records say?

• Bernier saw the craft at Shalimar in the 17th century.
• Subz-kar is highly varnished greenery on a gold background.
• William Moorcroft travelled in Kashmir from 1819 to 1823. He wrote of rich papier-mache decoration.
• Shawls were packed in papier-mache boxes for France. The boxes sold separately at higher prices.

Who practises it?

• The craft is largely pursued by the Shia community of Srinagar.
• Artisans work in small workshops called karkhanas.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Bernier saw, Aurangzeb backed, France bought”. Three names, three steps in the trade.

Which traps repeat?

• The craft is from Srinagar in Kashmir. Do not link it with Channapatna or Bidri.
• Tradition credits Zain-ul-Abidin and Samarkand. Hamadani is the second popular name.
• Sakhtasazi is making the base. Naqqashi is painting.
• Kari qalamdani means pen-case work.
• Chinar and gul are the main motifs.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Srinagar, Samarkand, sakhtasazi”. Three S words keep the place, the origin and the method together.