Orissa Arts and Crafts :

The state of Orissa was also famous or referred to as Utkala, “ the land of excellence in arts”. A treasure throve of exquisite handicrafts, it also has a rich diversity of traditional arts forms. Look out for a village where the work is actually produced with great reverence and creativity. The art of early sculptures and the superb carving on the famous temples of Orissa, a glorious tradition which reached the zenith of perfection during the Kharavela and Ganga kingdoms is kept alive by modern craftsmen. The traditional tie and dye textiles from the western Orissa, particularly Sambalpur, the texture and designs, are matchless. The folk craft and village figures replicated in brass, bell metal and the silver figure work of Cuttack is outstanding. The brightly coloured wood carving of the deities and the paper machine masks come from Orissa.



The appliqué work of Pipili and the Patta miniature of Raghurajpur are the most sought after souvenirs. The state of Orissa offers a striking selection of decorative and utilitarian arts and crafts.



Carving is divided into again divided into two parts i.e. Stone carving and Wood Carving.



Stone Carving :

One is bound to get enraptured by a craftsman delicately chiseling the stone to create poetry out of it. Beautiful life-size statues of gods and goddesses and the celestial beauties carved from stone stone, Kochila ( a locally available hard stone), sand stone and serpentine stone, reflect the grandeur of a rich heritage. Smaller replicas of the temples and other votive objects, and the Konark wheel, the rearing horse bestride the fallen hero, the majestic statue recreating the slaying of demon king by Nrishingha, an incarnation of Vishnu art. Along with intircarely caved ashtrays, flower vases, lamp bases and containers of daily use are turned out by families in Bhubaneswar, Puri, Lalitgiri and Khiching.


Wood Carving:

Another age old carft of Odisha, the wood artifacts are plain and shining with smooth polish and without any paint or coating of lacquer on them, combining the harmony of both folk and classical form. The treasures include toys, human and animal figures, flower vases, pen stands, boxes, bowl made by craftsmen from Puri, Bargarh and Khandapara. The brightly painted articles are singularly attractive.



Paintings is another way of define the cultural and traditional view of arts and crafts of Orissa. Painting arts is basically divided into three major categories i.e. Rock painting, Tribal Painting and Rural Folk Painting etc. Below you can find the details of paintings.



Rock Painting :

You can find the Rock painting and pictographic writings in Western part of Orissa, Vikramkhol in Jharsuguda, Manikmada and Ushkothi in Sundergarh, Gudahandi in Kalahandi and Jogimath in Naupada district indicate existence of prehistoric art in Orissa.

The painting range from small geometrical and floral patterns to big animal motifs and human figures are shown hunting, fighting, dancing and doing domestic chores. Most on the walls follow a sequential, horizontal pattern. Coloured used are red extracted from iron, brown from copper and white from lime compounds. The characters of the pictographic writings appear to be a mix derived from Mohanzdaro and Brahmi scripts. The Ravana Chhata Rock at Sitabinji in Keonjhar district contains a painting of very high order, depicting the procession scene of a king riding a caparisoned elephant with soldiers holding shafts and banners, followed by a female attendant. This painting carries reminiscence of Ajanta murals. Splendid murals adorn the inside of the Jagannath Temple, the Buddha Vijay painting in the jagamohana of the Lakshmi Temple and the Kanchi Vijay in the Jagamohana of the Jagannath Temple.