Wood carving — anatomy of a dying art
By Jamshed Khan
ISLAMABAD: Wood carving, a unique form of art displayed on doors and windows, is dying fast.
Practiced since ancient times, especially in Swat, Punjab and Kashmir, wood carving can be traced back to the early Buddhist period under the Kushan rulers. One can still glimpse traces of the Graeco-Buddhist style in the finished pieces.
It involves the use of high quality wood, including alpine, cedar, walnut and chir pine trees, which are skilfully carved into different designs and decorated on doors and windows.
According to artisan Muhammad Suhail, a single door can take up to three months to complete and once it is finished, it is hard to tell whether the masterpieces are carved by hand or machines.
However, the future of this exquisite art appears to be gloomy due to skyrocketing prices, making these pieces simply out of reach for consumers.
Apart from a few art enthusiasts and owners of five star hotels, an average person cannot afford to get wood-carved doors and windows.
“Carving a piece of wood is an extremely laborious process which requires expertise in proper use of different chisels, depending on the complexity of the design. A single carved piece can cost between Rs100,000 and Rs600,000, depending on size and quality of wood,” explained Suhail.
According to Muhammad Ismail, a 55-year-old artisan in Golra, most of the pieces displayed in commercial areas are in fact 200 to 250 years old, as the current economic conditions have made it impossible to use fresh wood for carving.
“These doors and windows are brought from historical mansions in Kashmir, Swat and Punjab, after which they are washed out and polished. They are then carved again by skilled artists before they are sold to customers,” he explained.
Ismail said he had acquired the skill from his father, who in turn, had acquired it from his father (Ismail’s grandfather) who migrated to Nowshera from the Kashmir valley.
Sharing his memories, he said his grandfather would prepare a single piece in six months and trade it for food and clothes.
However, he regretted on the way things were turning, saying that due to decrease in demand and absence of support from the government, the art is fading away.
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