Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wooden dolls.
Wooden Dolls of Natungram is very popular in West Bengal and also in India. The art-making wooden dolls have been an age-old practice in India and Natungram is one of them. It situated in Burdwan district of West Bengal.[1] There are many kinds of dolls like Gour-Nitai, Wooden owl, Krishna, Royal couple etc. The wooden owl is most popular among them.
History
Wooden owl, Natungram
The artist of Natungram used to work in stone carving first. with the king's patronage, they were working well. But after the fall of the king of Bardhaman, the craftsmen face difficulties. Then they left the stone carving industry and started doing fine arts and wooden works. One of the common family names here is Sutradhar because inspirations for most dolls are drawn from mythologies and folklore.[2]
Method
Wooden dolls, Natungram
Dolls are mainly made out of Gamar wood, Mango wood, Shimul wood, Ata wood, Chatim wood.[3] After making a shape of dolls, men carved the wood as per the requirement. Then women have painted the products with various colour. Then they used a glue, made from tamarind seed. Colouring has to be done by the female member of a family. They have used many colours in the dolls like white, green, yellow, black borders and red.[4]
