MYSORE (today Misuru

MYSORE (and the coastal region of Canara on the Malabar coast of western India).

According to the Brihat Sanhita, a celebrated work on astronomy by Varaha Mihira dating to the sixth century A.D., one of the woods most esteemed by the Hindus of India is chandan [Santalum album, sandalwood]. Of these, sandalwood reigns supreme and was used generously in Hindu temples. In the western antiques trade, many boxes are grouped together under the general description of ‘Anglo Indian’. The term betrays a lack of specialist knowledge and therefore a shallow appreciation of the diversity of styles and skills exhibited in the sub continent during the British colonial period. It is difficult to pick out a single exemplar to represent an entire genre but we choose this one because we know so much about the material from which it is made and the craftsman who made it.

True sandalwood (Santalum album) is a native of south east India and is considered sacred by the Hindus on account of its medicinal properties and delightful fragrance. It is a valuable tree associated with Indian culture. It is the second most expensive wood in the world. The heartwood of the tree is treasured for its aroma and is one of the finest natural materials for carving. Sandalwood oil is used in perfumes, cosmetics, aromatherapy and pharmaceuticals. The monopoly of sandalwood trade by the Governments of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and its consequences have resulted in severe exploitation, pushing S. album into the vulnerable category of the IUCN Red List. Like European limewood, it is prized by carvers because it yields readily to the sharp blade and feels anisotropic meaning that its grain is not pronounced. It should be noted that it is now very rare and enjoys government protection in the Mysore region where if is harvested for the production of sandalwood oil. Sandalwood is never varnished or polished. The carved surface is left in it’s natural state so that it can it exude its fragrace for decades. When fresh, it is a light pinkinsh color darkening to a chocolate color after a century or two, (as in this example). Many craftsmen have worked with this wood but one family stands out for their exquisit artistic sensitivity combined with an insane attention to detail. Many of the design elements in their carving approach the resolution limit of the human eye. This is attention to detail taken to an exceptional level requiring many more hours of sight impairing hours of work than would be needed to achieve an acceptable result. The Gudigar family of hereditary craftment trace their originas back to Goa in the 16thC. They are a micro minority that has depended mainly upon fine arts for making a living. Traditionally Gudigars were working in different fields of art while some were also into farming. Very few had depended upon other professions. Nowadays more and more Gudigars are in different jobs while a smaller number of Gudigars still pursue the traditional craft. From Goa, they migrated to Mysore and Canara to avoid the persistant pressure to adopt Christianity applied by the Portuguese colonial power in that area. Their devotion to Hindu iconography is always apparent in their work and continues to this day. The Gudigars still carve doors and fixtures for Hindu temples and even have a website proclaiming their historic skills and devotion to their craft.

Carving Temple Doors

Birdwood’s comments from 1880 are worth reporting: “Sandalwood and other Wood Carving.

Sandalwood carving is chiefly carried on in the Bombay Presidency, at Surat, Ahmedabad, Bombay, and Canara and in the Madras Presidency, in Mysore and Travancore. It is applied to the same articles as the Bombay inlaid work. Indeed the generic term " Bombay boxes " includes the sandalwood carving of Ahmedabad, Surat, and Bombay, as well as inlaid wood; but wood carving is a far superior art to inlaying, and in India is as ancient as the temple architecture and the carved idols in which it probably originated.

The Surat and Bombay work is in low relief, and the designs consist almost entirely of foliated ornament. The Canara and Mysore work is in high relief, the subjects being chiefly mythological.The Ahmedabad work, while in flat relief, is deeply cut, and the subjects are mixed floral and mythological; for instance, Krishna and the Gopies, represented not architecturally as in Canara carving, but naturally, disporting themselves in a luxuriant wood, in which each tree, while treated conventionally, and running into the general floral decoration, can be distinctly recognised. A line is drawn below the wood, and through the compartment thus formed a river is represented flowing, as on Greek coins, by an undulating band, on which tortoises, fishes, and water-fowl are carved in half relief.

The best Canara carving comes from Compta, and the best Mysore, which is identical in every respect with that of Canara, from the town of Sorab in the Shimroga district. The most beautiful example of Mysore sandalwood carving ever seen in this country was a little cabinet exhibited by Major Puckle in the Annual International Exhibition of 1871. It was surmounted by a triangular headboard on which were carved Brahma and Saraswati in the centre, and Siva on Nandi on one side, and Siva and Vishnu coalesced in Krishna on the other; the outline of this headpiece being waved in a manner to represent the mystic triliteral monosyllable AUM. On either side of it was an elephant waving a chauri in its trunk and below it a narrow border on which were carved Lakshmi, Parvati, Garuda, Hanuman, and other of the gods, all in a row. On the right door of the cabinet Vishnu on Garuda, with Lakshmi by his side, was represented in the centre, surrounded by the forms of his ten avatars ; and on the left door, Siva on Nandi, with Parvati by his side, was represented in the centre, surrounded by the guardians of the eight quarters of the earth, Indra, Agni, Yama, Nirritu (who in Madras always takes the place of Surya), Varuna, Vayu, Kubera, and Isana (who in Madras always takes the place of Soma). The sandalwood carving of Travancore is perfectly naturalistic in style.

A little sandalwood is carved at Morahabad in the North Western Provinces. Ebony is excellently carved at Bijnur, another town of the Rohilkhand division of the North-Western Provinces, and in a similar conventional style at Monghyr in Bengal. The designs on these boxes are generally geometrical and latterly I have seen them inlaid with ivory in the manner of the old Sicilian tarsia work.”

This miniature Hindu scene is depicted in disturbing detail. Vishnu is shown with his consort Lakshmi while resting on Ananta, the immortal and infinite snake. He is flanked by duplicate images of Shiva holding the severed fifth head of Brahma who appears above observing the entire scene. The portrayal of figures such as these, even though they are gods, would have been anathema to muslim workers.

Prize-winning casket of 1903. Notice how little the sandlewood has darkened in a century.

A very British watch stand enhanced with high quality Indian workmanship. Carving resolution 40 cuts/inch (16 cuts / cm). Sandalwood 200 years old, much darker color.

The Griffin is a mythical creature known as a half-eagle, halflion in various cultures. In legends and folklore, the beast guards the gold of the kings, as well as other priceless possessions. Yali is a mythical creature seen in many South Indian temples, often sculpted onto the pillars. It may be portrayed as part lion, part elephant and part horse, and in similar shapes. Also, it has been sometimes described as a leogryph (part lion and part griffin) with some bird-like features. Yalis became prominent in south Indian sculpture in the 16th century. Yalis were believed to be more powerful than the lion, the tiger or the elephant. They are depicted here on this Gudigar box in extraordinary detail.

In order to achieve such a high degree of skill on woodcarving, several factors are in play. The carving tools need to be designed for the task and be perfectly sharp. The wood needs to be fine grained and strong and sandalwood is ideal in this situation. Well co-ordinated hands and sharp eyes are also necessary as is an understanding of time which is almost completely absent from western culture. We are preoccupied with productivity and pressure to get the job done. Traditional oriental craftsmen simply worked day in, day out until the job was completed to a high degree of perfection. Whether this was a woodblock printer in Japan, a carpet maker in Persia, or an Indian miniature painter, the quality of the completed item was the driving force, not the time it took to achieve it. Under British rule in India, this changed. The boxes and carvings of the 18th century show incredible attention to detail but as the 19th century progresses we see repetition of design and constructional shortcuts. How else was the commercial appetite of civil servants and people in the employ of the East India company to be satisfied?

This piece is interesting because it was made for, and sold in the Government Art workshop in Mysore where visitors can learn about sandalwood and see the factory where the essential oil is extracted. It has the original government label on the underside of the lid. The sandalwood trees are under the total protection and control of the goverment of Mysore.

Open box of the Mysore Govnt shop showing label under lid.

The Gudigars were able to achieve an astonishing level of detail in their carvings. Here, the ruler is graduated in centimeters showing that 16 cuts/ cm are made (40 cuts/inch). Not only are individual leaves dipicted but even the veins of the leaves are included.

Detail from the top panel of the casket shown opposite.

It will be noted that all of the samples referenced here have sandalwood as the only material used.

Ancient Indian texts give detailed directions for felling preferred trees at particular seasons, when their circulation is inactive; and for seasoning the wood afterwards, so as to prevent unequal contractions and cracks in drying. Trees which have been struck down by lightning, or toppled by inundations, storms, or elephants or which grow on burial, or burning, or other holy ground, or at the confluence of large rivers, or by the public road side; or which are withered at the top, or are entangled with heavy creepers ; or which have become the habitation of birds, or bees, etc, may not be used. Some trees, such as sandalwood are most auspicious when used singly; others when used jointly.