Made by
Showkat Ahmad Bhat
Papier-mâché and walnut wood · Zadibal, Srinagar, Kashmir · 22 years
Builds papier-mâché forms and carves walnut in the same two-room workshop.
Papier-mâché Box
Paper pulp shaped, sanded and painted with a squirrel-hair brush, then lacquered in layers.
₹4,20018 × 12 cm
Enquire about this pieceMade to order. We confirm timing and price by email before any payment.
This piece
The form is built from paper pulp (sakhtsazi), then painted (naqashi) by a second craftsman with brushes made from squirrel hair. Colours are ground pigment, not enamel. Between four and six layers of lacquer follow, each sanded back. Every box is signed on the underside.
Showkat works both crafts that Srinagar is known for indoors: sakhtsazi, the building of forms from paper pulp, and walnut carving. The painting on his boxes is done by a naqash with a squirrel-hair brush and ground pigment, then lacquered in four to six sanded layers. His walnut trays are cut from a single board and finished in oil so they can be re-oiled at home.
What's inside
- Weight
- 18 × 12 cm
- Lot record
- Issued when the lot is made
- Availability
- Short runs, spring 2027
Care & use
Air the piece rather than washing it. Fold with acid-free tissue and keep it dry and out of direct light; for pashmina, dry-clean only, and rarely. Hand-made work settles with use — small irregularities are the record of the hand that made it, not a fault.