Enamelling is a technique that uses powdered minerals or glass to coat precious metal surfaces. It came to be known as meenakari in the Indian subcontinent and flourished in a few royal courts of Rajasthan, Banaras and the Deccan. Over time, Jaipur has become the vibrant enamelling epicentre of India.
Kundan Jadau jewellery often has precious stones studded into metal ornaments from the front and delicate enamelling patterns on the back. Traditional meenakari motifs include flora, fauna and geometrical patterns, rendered in many colours. These flasks feature meenakari on silver, in which the coloured enamel is fused with the metallic surface through heat in a furnace.
Artist
Inder Singh Kudrat
Jaipur Rajasthan
Shilp Guru awardee Inder Singh Kudrat traces his lineage to the first master craftsmen of Jaipur who came to the city when it was founded by Sawai Jai Singh II in the 17th century.
The Craft
Meenakari
Originating in Persia, Meenakari is enamel art work on a canvas of jewellery. The term Meenakari comes from Mina, meaning paradise, and Kari, referring to working on an object.
Read more
Realted
More from the Pavilion
