Stone carving in Odisha is the ancient practice of sculpting stone into art and utilitarian objects. It is an ancient practice in the Indian state of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. Stone carving is practiced by artisans mainly in

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

and

Lalitgiri Lalitagiri () (also known as Nalitagiri) is a major Buddhist complex in the Indian state of Odisha. The complex is home to stupas, 'esoteric' Buddha images, and monasteries ( viharas), which is the oldest site in the region. Significant finds at ...

in the Cuttack district, though some carvings can be found in

Khiching Khiching is an ancient city and largely in ruins is situated in Panchpir sub-division of Mayurbhanj district in Odisha State of India. It is the location of the Kichakeshwari Temple made from black stone. Khiching is located about 50 km ...

in the

Mayurbhanj District Mayurbhanj district is one of the 30 districts in Odisha state in eastern India. It is the largest district of Odisha by area. Its headquarters are at Baripada. Other major towns are Rairangpur, Karanjia and Udala. , it is the third-most-popu ...

. Stone carving is one of the major handcrafts of

. The art form primarily consists of custom carved works, with the

Sun Temple of Konark Konark Sun Temple is a (year 1250) Sun temple at Konark about northeast from Puri city on the coastline in Puri district, Odisha, India.Udayagiri and

Ratnagiri Ratnagiri (IAST:Ratnāgirī ; �ət̪n̪aːɡiɾiː is a port city on the Arabian Sea coast in Ratnagiri District in the southwestern part of Maharashtra, India. The district is a part of Konkan division of Maharashtra. The city is known for ...

and the temples at

Jagannath Jagannath ( or, ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, lit=Lord of the Universe, Jagannātha; formerly en, Juggernaut) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister ...

, Lingaraj, Mukteshwar and as well as other temples in the region.

Stones

Sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

, soapstone,

serpentinite Serpentinite is a rock composed predominantly of one or more serpentine group minerals, the name originating from the similarity of the texture of the rock to that of the skin of a snake. Serpentinite has been called ''serpentine'' or ''ser ...

, Makrana marble, and

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

were used in Konark stone carving. Skillful artists may use the soft, white soapstone, , or the slightly harder greenish

chlorite The chlorite ion, or chlorine dioxide anion, is the halite with the chemical formula of . A chlorite (compound) is a compound that contains this group, with chlorine in the oxidation state of +3. Chlorites are also known as salts of chlorous ac ...

or . Rocks such as the pinkish , or and the hardest of all, black granite and are commonly used.

Procedure

An outline of sorts is first drawn on the cut-to-size stone. Once the outline is engraved, the final figure is brought out by removing the unwanted portions. For the harder stones, this is done by chiseling out the extra material. With softer stones, it is done by scraping out the extra material with a sharp flat-edged iron tool. Hammers and chisels of various sizes are used (e.g., the , , , and ).

Products

Subjects are often traditional images, including mythological figures. Utilitarian items like candle stands, pen stands, paperweights, bookends, lamp bases and stoneware utensils are also created. Turning and polishing with a wooden lathe called Kunda, the craftsmen produce beautiful polished plates (thali), containers (gina, pathuri), cups and glasses. These are used for , ritual worships and for daily eating. Stoneware containers are particularly good for storing curd as they do not react to acid. They are also filled with water and used for holding the legs of wooden almirahs to keep out the ants.

References

{{Odia culture Geographical indications in Odisha Stonemasonry