Thanjavur Art Plates and Mettal Wares

Thanjavur, once the capital of the Imperial Cholas of Tamil Nadu, come some of the finest examples of embossed metal art work. The beautiful Thanjavur (Tanjore) plates, bowls, napkin rings, jewel boxes ect., made of copper and brass, with motifs drawn from Hindu mythology and encrusted in silver against a finely engraved back ground, exemplify both superlative skill and mastery of materials.

Other objects cast in copper, brass, bronze and bell metal, include puja items such as different types of lamps, chembus (container for ritual water)bowels and bells, special utensils and items such as paper weights, which are made at Nachiarcoil near Thanjavur Nagarcoil Kanchipuram and Arcot. Madurai is famous for a range of charming miniature brass insects and reptile models.

• 1. Brass sheets out of which the Base plate is made, and thin Copper Sheets and thin Silver Sheets out of which the reliefs are made.
• 2. Lead out of which moulds are made.
• 3. Asphalt which is required for the base board.

Most of the craftsmen buy the main raw materials as well as the subsidiary raw materials required for them, from the local market. The asphalt, one of the subsidiary raw-materials required for the industries is a byproduct of Petroleum. It was procured from Vijayawada (AP. India) but it has become costly and is being substituted by a locally made wax. This local wax is made out of a mixture of bdellium (locally known as ‘Kungilium'), gingelly oil and brick powder.

The tools required for this craft are the base board, the hammers, the punches and chisels. The most important item among the tools is the large number of punches and chisels which form part of the craftsman's repertoire. These large numbers of punches and chisels may be divided into four groups on the basis of the use to which they are put. They are: Tracer punches, Impression punches, Punches with pointed working ends, Cushioning punches. Each of these groups consists of a large number of punches of varying sizes and shapes. These punches are about four to six inches in length but vary in thickness. The artisans buy these punches with un ground working ends and get the local blacksmith to grinding the working ends according to their personal requirements. Most of the tools are made locally and are available at the local hardware stores. It is to be noted that the craftsman inherits the workshop consisting of tools, machine, etc., from father to son. They use the same type of tools over the centuries, despite the changing designs.

The planning of the designs involves the selection of the design and motifs and proper spacing of these on the plate to secure a pleasing and harmonious pattern. The craftsman has a stock of Os-plates of standard pattern (Os-plate is a local term which describes the basic design stencil plate or the mould from which dies are cast). Whenever he evolves a new pattern, he has to prepare a new Os-plate for that design. When the selection and composition of the design are completed, the craftsman proceeds to work on the surface of the metal sheet.

He first traces out the design on the copper plate from the design paper with the copying pencil and then proceeds to obtain a firm impression of the design on the plate with the help of metallic tracers. He engraves an outline of the design on the sheet with the tracers. After finishing this stage of work, the craftsman removes the metal sheet from the asphalt bed. The asphalt is slightly warmed for this purpose and the metal sheet stripped off the bed. The face that had been in contact with the bed is cleaned. He also uses the liner punches to give a varied structure to the background wherever it is necessary. In this process, he has to work on both sides at the plate with the bossing and cushioning punches. While punching is done on the reverse side, protuberance is formed on the front side and vice versa. This process is repeated till the elevations and bulges required for the board details of the design are obtained. After this, silver and copper are cut into thin sheets of required sizes, and they are slightly heated to make them malleable. They are then pressed one by one, between the dies, to get impression of the design on the sheets. Then the craftsman has to work with chisels and punches of various sizes until a refined and finished figure is produced.

The next stage in the craft is to encrust the relief sheets on the base plate. Cutting recesses and grooves in the base plates will involve a lot of hammering and the plate should be set firmly against a solid background. The contours of the designs are then marked on the plate with the impression punch which has the particular motif needed for the plate. Such motifs punched one after the other make up the decorative or floral design. Then it is polished and traces of asphalt removed. The plate is then washed in diluted sulphuric acid and then in soap nut powder and brushed with a soft wire brush. Thus the final product with a shine is produced.