Bone and Shell Chief Handicraft of India

Bone and Shell

Marine mollusks(animals) strip off their calcareous casing from time to time. These are sea shells which are painted, etched, carved, cut and sculpted to form various utility and decorative handicraft items. Some of the shells used are puka, nautilus, mother of pearl(mop), blacklip, brownlip, hammer, troca, paua etc. Sea shells have been used by mankind since the stone age. They not only adorned their jewelry but also their boats and other belongings. Soon shells became an important part of their life. Some tribes even used shells as money. Among the Greeks and Romans, shells were a symbol of prosperity. Collecting and decorating with shells became a hobby for the aristocrats. Shells are used to make decorative tiles & floorings, walls, pots, picture frame & mirrors, jewelry boxes, lamp shades, ash trays, incense stick and candle stand and jewelry.

Tortoise Shell Craft
The main centre for the tortoise shell crafting is in Andhra Pradesh district of Vishakapatnam where chiefly trinket boxes are made in combination with bone. The shell surface of the box is covered with intricate designs of bone fretwork so that the orange glow of the shell can be seen through this perforated lacy pattern. The designs include fine geometrical patterns, epic figures and animals fringed by floral motifs.
A combination of horns, bone and tortoise shells are also combined to make products at Vishakapatnam and Secunderabad. Bone is also combined with sandalwood, ebony and tortoise shells to create intricate patterns of fretwork that are mounted or inlaid to make ornate octagonal jewel boxes with the bone net cover.

Shell Craft of Andaman & Nicobar
The large and beautiful shells found in abundance in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. are cleaned and polished before being used to make ashtrays, small boxes, bangles, table lamps, and jewellery. An interesting and beautiful resource is the tortoise shell which is often inlaid with silver, and used to make jewellery and decorative artefacts such as rings and crosses to be worn around the neck. Shell, because of its light colour and luminous properties, is also being used for inlay work.

Bone has been used by human beings from the very beginning. Probably the bones left after decay of the animals was discovered by man. He might have used it as a weapon for hunting and defending himself. Subsequently it was put to various uses by carvers when not only utility but decorative objects of art were made. Captive jewelry, beads, combs etc are made from bones.