Bone carving has a special place in Indian culture.
During theMughal dynasty, royals would commission elaborate bone carvings to adorn their palaces.
From lamps to pens to knives to earrings and necklaces, there is nothing that can’t be made.
In this way, nothing goes to waste.
Currently, the Akhtar family teaches government-subsidized workshops in the community, passing their knowledge along.
And, together with a handful of specialist artisans, they continue to create stunning bone carvings.
Read on for My Modern Met’s exclusive interview.
Can you share a bit of history about bone carving and its place in Nawabian culture?
Since humans started to hunt, they utilized the bones of animals to make tools.
While some took their skills to wood carving, others took up completely different areas of work to survive.
Why is it important for you to keep this tradition alive?
We believe it is both our responsibility and our honor to keep alive the culture that our forefathers began.
The art of bone carving is a practice that precedes almost all the popular art forms.
When such is the case, it is an absolute honor for us to keep the artwork alive.
It is our opinion that there is an immense opportunity to create works of art that reflect modern culture.
Creating works of an ancient art form that represents modern thinking is something few people do today.
How long do the more intricate carvings take?
The base of the lamp was damaged by unknown causes.
Restoring that it has already taken years and yet it remains unfinished.
Is everything carved by hand, or are lasers also used?
These were also incorporated only recently just so the trivial aspects of the work dont take too much time.
We also use a small buffing machine to smoothen the artwork in the end.
No stencils are used anywhere in the process.
And no, no lasers are used in the process.
What do you hope that people take away when they look at your work?
We would like them to recognize through our art how far weve come from who we once were.
