Meenakari

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Meenakari is the art of coloring and decorating metal surfaces by combining brilliant colors decorated with intricate designs.

Video Meenakari

Origin

Mina is the feminine form of Minoo in Persia, which means heaven. Mina refers to the color of the Azure sky. The Iranian artisans of the Sasanied era discovered this art and the Mongols spread to India and other countries.

The French tourist Jean Chardin, who toured Iran during the Safavid administration, made reference to Isfahan's enamel, which consisted of bird and animal patterns on the backgrounds of light blue, green, yellow and red flowers. Gold has traditionally been used for Meenakari Jewelry because it holds the enamel better, lasts longer and the fragrance carries enamel color. Silver, the next introduction, is used for artefacts such as boxes, bowls, spoons, and art objects while Copper used for handicraft products was introduced only after the Golden Control Law, which forced Meenakars to search for materials other than gold, was enforced in India.

Initially, the work of Meenakari often escapes attention because this art is traditionally used as a support for famous kundan or stone jewelry. It also allows the user to reverse the jewelry as well as promised special joy in hidden design secrets.

Maps Meenakari

History

Meenakars belong to the Sonar or Sohail caste of the Knights and identify themselves by the name Meenakar or Verma. It is a hereditary craft and rarely outsiders are allowed to gain knowledge of their craft. The process followed is a long drawn and complex in which a piece of Meena can pass through many expert hands before it is finished.

Meenakari not only limited to traditional jewelry but diversified into more modern products, often with copper base, including bowls, ashtrays, key chains, vases, spoons, god figures, and wall pieces. This is a wonderful job for all kinds of marble vases.

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Process

The traditional process begins with the designer (Nacquash, Chitera) and moves to a goldsmith (Sonar, Swarnakar), a carved engraver of design (Kalamkar, Khodnakar), colored enamel (Meenakar), scouring (Ghotnawala), Chiknawala) Jadia, Kundansaaz), and stringer (Patua), all of which are crucial chains of craftsmen who create finished products. However, due to the lack of skilled traders often a single craftsman wore many hats because of the experience gained over the years which is very useful for performing various tasks.

The Meenakars carve metal surfaces with intricate designs using a metal stylus which is then filled with color. The Meena is then placed in a furnace where the color fuses and harden to become one with the surface. After that the pieces are then gently rubbed with a file and cleaned with a mixture of lemons and acids that help to highlight the luster of each color. The color enamel is a metal oxide mixed with a fine glass powder color in which the oxide content controls the color obtained. The yellow color is obtained through the use of chromates from potassium, violet through manganese carbonate, blue through cobalt oxide, green through copper oxide, brown through red, and black oxides through manganese, iron, and cobalt. The brilliant red color is the most difficult color to achieve. White and ivory, though difficult, are achieved through a mixture of antinomies from potassium, hydrated iron oxide, and zinc carbonate. These colors are applied according to their hardness, starting with the most difficult. Before the enamel is applied, the ornament surface is carefully cleaned. In its raw form, this mixture does not always show its original color, which only appears when fired in a kiln. The average combustion temperature is about 850 degrees Celsius. The enamel color was purchased from Amritsar in Punjab or from Germany or France.

Enameling is practiced in many centers in India and each region specializes in its own style and technique variations. In Lucknow, the Meenakar specialties are blue and green in silver, while in Banaras the rose pink or gulmin meena is the dominant color. The craft is also practiced in Kangra, Kashmir, and Bhawalpur. It is, however, the most vibrant in Jaipur (Rajasthan) and in Delhi, and these two centers continue to create pieces of excellence Meenakari to this day.

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References

• Meinakari Jewelry
• Meenakari-Enamel by Rajasthan
• [1]

Source of the article : Wikipedia