ॐ श्री गणाधिपतये नमः
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Situated inside the Bahu Plaza Shopping Complex in Panama Chowk of Srinagar, the Government Art Emporium serves as the perfect haven for all art lovers. This place abounds in the beautiful handicrafts of the alluring land of Kashmir for you to savor.
The Kashmir Government Arts Emporium is the best place to shop for some beautiful Kashmiri handicrafts. Starting from garments to home decor the place is overflowing with amazingly gorgeous items that you would like to take back home with you.
Come here to find some of the most unique handicraft items that you have ever found. Bags, clothes, home decor items, lamp shades all of these things can be bought at decent prices. These things are all hand made by the indigenous people of the region.
Offering a wide variety of products, from apparels to home décor items, this emporium deserves to be your next-stop. Take a look at unique handmade articles that you have ever come across; that stand as a representative of the vibrant culture of Kashmir.
The Emporium exhibits and sells umpteen varieties of beautiful handicrafts, starting from home decor products to apparels. All the authentic handmade articles found here depict the vibrant and rich culture of the state and the extraordinary skills of its craftsmen.
Manifesting a calm environment, regal interiors, and towering pillars, the beautiful arts emporium is also a building to marvel at in itself.
The traders here never compromise with the quality of their products and brings forth a multitude of gorgeous artifacts for you to splurge on. In addition to this, this place boasts of a peaceful ambiance, intensified by the towering pillars and regal interiors.
Take your family for a worthwhile visit to this beautiful emporium and cherish those special moments for years to come.
Here’s an introduction to some of the handicrafts of Kashmir :
A Kashmiri rug is a hand-knotted oriental rug from Kashmir valley in India, which is associated with Kashmiri handicrafts.
Kashmiri rugs or carpets have intricate designs that are primarily oriental, floral style in a range of colors, sizes and quality.
Kashmiri carpets are handmade, hand-knotted, and are primarily made using pure wool, pure silk and occasionally wool and silk blends. These are available in wide-ranging colors, designs and sizes.
Kashmiri rugs are primarily made in the vicinity of Srinagar in Kashmir and the neighboring villages in rural parts of Kashmir. These rugs are one of the most sought-after artworks by connoisseurs around the world owing to their exceptional workmanship.
Kashmiri rugs are renowned for their bright, jewel-like color tones such as sapphire blue, ruby red, emerald green, aquamarine, amethyst, and ivory. Rugs from Kashmir are traditionally made in oriental, floral designs that typically involve motifs like paisley, chinar tree etc.
Most of these designs are rooted in the Kashmiri way of life and are a symbolic representation of the age-old Kashmir tradition of hospitality, warmth, and love.
It is often said in Kashmir folklore that a home is incomplete without a soul ie a Kashmiri carpet. Although, the art of making these gorgeous rugs is not native to Kashmir and was first introduced nearly 400 years back by the Mughal rulers in India. Yet the indigenous brilliance of the local crafts-persons has made Kashmir carpets one of the most sought after works of art in the world.
Rugs of Kashmir are widely popular across North America, South Asia and Europe.
The Kashmiri Shawl, the predecessor of the contemporary Cashmere Shawl, is a type of Shawl identified by its distinctive Kashmiri weave, and for being made of the fine Shahtoosh or Pashmina wool.
Contemporary variants include the Pashmina and Shahtoosh Shawls.
Originally designed as a covering for men in India, it has evolved in the popular cultures of India, Europe, and the United States as indicators of nobility and rank, heirlooms giving on a girl’s coming-of-age and marriage, and subsequently, as artistic elements in interior design.
Valued for its warmth, light weight and characteristic Buta design, the Kashmir Shawl trade inspired the global Cashmere industry.
The shawl evolved into its high-grade, sartorial use in the 13th century, and was used in the 16th century by the Mughal and Iranian emperors, both personally and for honouring members of their Durbar.
In the late 18th century, it arrived in Britain, and then in France, where its use by Queen Victoria and Empress Joséphine popularised it as a symbol of exotic luxury and status.
The Kashmir Shawl has since become a toponym for the Kashmir region itself (Cashmere, named after Kashmir), popularising the Buta motif, today known as the Paisley motif after the factories in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland that sought to replicate it.
Carved walnut wood-work is among the most important crafts of Kashmir. Kashmir is now one of the few places in the world where walnut is still available at an altitude of 5500-7500 feet above see level.
The wood is hard and durable, its close grain and even texture facilitating fine and detailed work.
It also presents visually interesting effects with mere plain polished surfaces in fact in contemporary products, plain surfaces and small carvings are preferred, especially on trays, tables, bowls and similar items.
The Kashmiri craftsman, however, rejoices in carving intricate and varied designs. A variety of carved products bear recurrent motifs of the rose, lotus, iris, bunches of grapes, pears and chinar leaves.
Dragon motifs and patterns taken from Kani and embroidered shawls all find their place in wooden objects with deep relief carving.
A variety of articles, both decorative and utilitarian, ranging from small items like bowls, trays, cigarette boxes, wall plaques and table lamps to screens, bedsteads and larger items of furniture are carved in walnut wood.
Four main types of carving are usually practised in Kashmir-raised, engraved, undercut and plain.
The carving of furniture and smaller items is an elaborate process and involves high degree of skill and craftsmanship. The carving is done with the help of small indigenous tools. The art of wood carving is centred in the city of Srinagar.
Kashmir papier-mache is a craft that was brought by Muslim saint Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani from Persia in the 14th century to medieval India. It is based primarily on paper pulp, and is a richly decorated, colourful artifact.
These are generally in the form of vases, bowls, or cups, boxes, trays, bases of lamps, and many other small objects.
These are made in homes, and workshops, in Srinagar and in many other parts of the Kashmir Valley.
One of the finest and enchanting handicrafts of Kashmir is the Chain Stitch embroidery which is locally popular as crewel embroidery (Aari Kaem). Though there is a slight difference in the two, these names are however alternately used in the local trade.
Chain stitch is done by a hook, locally known as Aari, on white backgrounds. The Aari hook covers a much larger area than needle work in the same amount of time. This embroidery is done from one point and rotates around to create an embossed effect on the upholstery and drapery.
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Crewel is basically similar to chain stitch. It is also chain stitch done on white background, but here the motifs, mainly floral designs, do not cover the entire surface, and the background is not embroidered up completely. Some background space is left as such to create an appealing look.
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Coming back to our Chain Stitch, these patterns are highly aesthetic with beautiful colors and motifs being used in them, which are captivating to the human eye.
This beautiful form of embroidery is done by skilled craftsmen of Kashmir to add richness to the textile and is done with wool on tightly woven fabrics like linen and cotton.
Chain Stitch transforms any simple texture to the silkiest texture that has an awe-inspiring lustre and feels even silkier than silk.
The chain stitch is mainly in the form of flower motifs embossed on the white colored fabric that offers a calm and rich look to the curtains and other furnishing, especially the gorgeous rugs that are a manifestation of this beautiful and skilful art.
Chain Stitch Handmade Rugs :
Kashmiri Handmade Rugs done in the chain stitch pattern are brilliance unparalleled. These chain stitch patterned rugs are in great demand all over the world because of the high quality of embroidery done on them.
These exquisite pieces of art are also used as wall hangings to impart an artistic appeal to the walls. As beautiful and impressive these rugs look, the process that is undertaken to finish them is equally appealing.
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Have a look at some of the handmade marvels of the brilliant craftsmen of Kashmir :
Leather bags of Kashmir with Ari embroidery work
Walnut Wood Carvings of Kashmir
Cushion covers from Kashmir with intricate Kashmiri hand-embroidery work
Papier-Mache Handicrafts of Kashmir
Hand embroidered Kashmiri Woollen Poncho
Woolen chain-stitch hand-embroidery rugs of Kashmir
Kashmir Government Arts Emporium Address
Emporium Building, Residency Road, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir 190001
Emporium Building, A-7, State, Baba Kharak Singh Rd, Opp Hanuman Mandir, New Delhi, Delhi 110001
47, Commercial Street, near Punjab National Bank, Tasker Town, Shivaji Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560001
F 110 and F 53 first floor second phase , Spencer Plaza, 769, 2nd Phase, Anna Salai, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600002
30 Bay Building, SCO 11, Madhya Marg, Sector 17, Chandigarh, 160017
