Traditional art form

At the Udaipur art school we watched as artists painted in the studio.  Madan stopped what he was doing and created this miniature of a camel for me. 

There are three levels of artist, the professors the masters and the students.  Using brushes with only a few squirrel hairs they paint first on paper then graduate to silk, marble and since ivory was banned, camel bone.   The bone is ground into a fine powder then bound with glue before being spread into a thin sheet.

Next door in the showroom I choose the perfect souvenir of a trip to Rajasthan, Three miniatures side by side in a black mount surrounded by a gold frame,  the work of a professor on camel bone.  They depict a white horse signifying power standing in front of Lake Pichola Udaipur,  the elephant for luck in front of the Palace of the Winds Jaipur and the camel, of course the symbol of love in the desert by Jaisalmer Fort.

Woman's work.

Shopping can be a little different in Udaipur.